


Blood and Thunder

by Hadronix



Series: Dragon Scales, Bloodlust, and Redemption [4]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, World of Warcraft, inFAMOUS (Video Games)
Genre: Attempted mugging, Blood, Breaking the Law, Cannibalism, Cosplay, Deception, Engineering, First Crush, Gas Mask, Getting a Job, Gold Coins, Gore, Headcanon, Learning to Ride a Bike, Medieval Character in Modern Setting, Metal Mountains, Nicknames, Out of Character, Pawn Shop, Sequel, Sewage System, Sharing Backstories Off-Screen, Side Quests, The Blast, Unfamiliar Terms, Unknown land, Violence, blackout - Freeform, damaged characters, scavenging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-07-03 15:00:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 55,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15821265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadronix/pseuds/Hadronix
Summary: -> *Edit* If you have already started reading this, hop back to Chapter 1 for a huge update to what's going on in canon. <-Yasei awakens with a cloth parachute over her head and a massive puddle of blood. By the grace of the Dusk Dragon himself, Hadronix and her survive falling their encounter with Lotus and Phoenix. Though the wormhole generator the Hunter used took them to a place that neither of them recognize.The two of them are stranded there, Yasei will have to deal with the fact that she's unable to get back as well as the doubts that plague her mind. Did Phoenix kill everyone? Can she be stopped? Can they find a way back?Why is her Dragon so silent?





	1. Falling from Grace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei wakes up to a wonderful set of arms around her... for less than a minute when there is apparently an army marching towards them.
> 
> Phoenix and Hadronix come up with a high-risk plan, but both of them have made seemingly impossible things happen before, so why not this as well?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -> *Highly important* <\- I've been going over the various ideas I've had for this series, and I've come to this decision over several weeks of thinking it over.
> 
> 'Blood and Thunder' and 'The Dragon, the Beast, and the Wormhole' are being removed from the canon path, and will now be considered an AU path for Yasei's travels.
> 
> If you liked what was going on in 'BaT', don't worry, it's still here and will still be updated, it just won't be considered the main story anymore.
> 
> If you didn't, and would have rather skip the two inFamous stories, then this will be good news for you.
> 
> Yea, I get that 'BaT' wasn't nearly as well received, and this decision is *not* based on views. My choices are only driven by me, as I'm happy enough just having the things I typed up being posted. Yes, even if I ended up posting something that gets a grand total of 1 view, I'll be fine, because I can point to it and proudly say 'Yea, I did that.'
> 
> This chapter was originally Chapter 38 of 'Thirst for Blood'.

I yawn and nudge myself closer to Elise, “Mmm…” I hum into her chest.  _‘Pure bliss…’_

Then an incredibly loud whistle echoes through the tent, “Up and at em! Come on love birds, let’s  **move**  !” Hadronix yells. I groan in protest and Elise wraps me tighter, “You can’t defend yourselves from swords and magic if you lie there naked like that!”

With that, I got up so fast that Elise is thrown off, “Sorry, Elise. We are under attack?”

She rubs her head. “Owie…”

“That is correct!  **Move**  !” Gods, for a retainer she sure isn’t afraid to give  **me**  an order. Within a minute Elise and I have our gear on and dash outside to see…  _‘gods’_. A large Hoshidan force.  _‘There’s no way we can fend off all of those!’_

The ground itself shakes at the amount of troops headed our way, “They aren’t holding back...” Xander says as he draws his sword, Siegfried pulsing its dark-red and black aura.

“We aren’t worth that much trouble, were we?” Camilla asks, Divine axe in hand, her fire tome on the ready.

Selena scoffs, “We got the means to take them out, right Phoenix?” The Tactician simply nods in response.

“Halt!” The Hoshidan force stops in its tracks and in front… Takumi, but he seems off. I can barely, just barely make out a dark-purple aura around him. “I have been authorized to do what it takes to end all of you... especially the wanna-be ‘Hoshidan’, Corrin.”

“Brother!” Sakura yells, “Do…”

“  **Silence**  !” His voices echoes and she flinches, “If you do not return to Hoshido  **right now**  , you will be one of the corpses left here."

The small Hoshidan princess looks at the massive force, then at Raven and me. “We got this.” Phoenix says, “I… have a plan.” She has a smirk.

“I see.” Takumi says after a moment of silence from Sakura, “Hoshidans! Sakura has betrayed Hoshido, she is to be  **not**  treated as royalty, but rather as the enemy.”

“Draw them back,” Phoenix starts, “He is being driven by anger, let him and his troops follow us past this section of the mountain…”

“There are cracks in the ground,” Hadronix’s eyes light up and Phoenix nods in approval, “If we can lead them along, we can shatter the ground with several powerful blasts,” She makes a quickly low sounding whistle, “they will fall, literally.”

The Hoshidan Prince begins some sort of motivational speech to his troops. Fool, he is giving us time.

“We need a few powerful blasts, but out magic users are…”

“Buy me a few minutes and I’ll plant explosives.” Hadronix interrupts. “Goblin engineering focuses on explosions and I have a pitiful half-course on apprentice Goblin engineering, but it is enough to make some T.N.T.”

“A few minutes? Against a force that large?” Xander asks. “Even that seems folly. They will simply overrun us and take you out.”

 _“My little dragon, be a good pet and stand your ground.”_ I feel my Dragonstone surge with magic, “We can do this. I’ll hold the line with a few others.”

“Just me.” Phoenix speaks up. “The rest of you, run. Hadronix I trust this… ‘TNT’ is powerful?”

“Just leave you here!? We can’t…” Jakob protests.

“Absolutely not, sister.” Xander shakes his head, “I will not let you do such a foolish thing, commander or not.”

“That is an order.” I stand my ground. A wave of magic accompanies my statement and the others seem more willing to do as I say.  _‘Gods, thank you Phoenix…’_

“Yes, Phoenix.” Hadronix starts, already pulling materials out of her pockets, “Make sure that not even a  **single**  fire spell hits the area, or this will end badly.” She starts stuffing some fine black powder into red containers labeled T.N.T. “Run already! Go! The blast radius is going to be large.  **MOVE**  !”

“S-sis… don’t die… please…” Raven starts crying.

Hadronix stops for a half second before resuming, “I’ve survived worse, besides, if a god of death can’t take me out, nothing can.” She reaches into her pocket and tosses the Monk a small glowing device. “Keep that on you. Once it starts beeping and flashing, gently place it on a level surface.”

“R-right…”

“We’re trusting this insane plan, Phoenix.” Camilla says, “You’ve worked miracles so far, this one better be another success.” The group finally starts running off.

Phoenix approaches me calmly, then whispers, “Well, my little dragon, let’s show them true terror, alright?” I flash a fanged smile and shift. My scales are blood red and I can just feel the power being controlled. “...beautiful.”

“Charge!” Takumi yells.

 _“Remember, Oboro was under Takumi’s command, avenge your mate. Take him out!”_ I roar and meet them head on, Phoenix not too far behind me, Mjolnir tome in hand. Swords, magic… everything just seems to bounce off my scales. I stomp the ground once and a shockwave knocks dozens to the ground, and crushes all the ones near me. A single swipe of my tail bats four or five at a time, and those bodies slam into other ones.  _‘Gods, this is… exhilarating.’_ The heavy scent of blood hanging in the air just makes me fight all the more savage.  _‘Rip, tear, impale, mutilate,_ ** _die_  ** _.’_ Faces blur together in a haze of red.

“Gods… she is a monster…” I hear one of them say, before running off.

“Lord Takumi, we can’t do a damn thing to her!” Another yells.

“Then get the others! Don’t waste your lives to the traitor!”  _‘Perfect.’_

“Just in time…” I easily hear Hadronix whisper, “Come on, then.” Phoenix and I let the bulk charge past us. Takumi foolishly stands his ground… alone, the aura I saw earlier increases and now it is a deep purple.

“Come, traitor.”  **Another**  Takumi appears beside him, they both aim their Fujin Yumis and fire, a pair of arrows land, but they barely bite into my scales.

“Nice magic trick, boy.” Phoenix has an aura of power around her, “But you have nothing on me. Mjolnir.” The copy is struck with a lightning strike and the ground cracks open around it. “Pathetic.” Her voice comes out deeper and I can sense an intense darkness around her. Yet, the dark magic around her is soothing,  _‘Calm, safe.’_

The ground shakes as a deafening crack echoes across the land. Takumi looks past me and pales… I can sense that the ground has given in. He backs away a few steps and I follow in a predatory manner. His arrows intensify in strength, but they are still laughably weak. “See, dear Takumi.” Phoenix speaks up, “  **This**  sort of power is what I had to fight against from my world, does it make you feel weak? Useless? I hope so.”

“...By Mimiron’s mechanical nuts…” I hear Hadronix… I can sense she is hanging on the edge. “My parachute won’t due jack if I don’t have anything to climb with… I  **had**  them in…”

“Hello again.” Another new voice. “Looking for these? And this?” No, wait, that’s...

“Lotus?”

 _“Focus!”_ Takumi takes my sudden hesitation and bolts,  _“Kill him!”_

“How’s it hanging? Oh, only one hand?” Lotus tuts. “A shame you can’t climb like normal people, yea?”

“Yasei! Phoenix!” Her voice sounds panicked, and a small shock hits my head, where that noise… thing is.

“If I remember right, if I press this, then a person’s image and voice is copied…” A ‘click’.

_“Chase him down!”_

The voice taunting Hadronix giggles, “And now I have both you, technically speaking, and a means across this chasm, thanks. Have a nice fall.” I feel a familiar whirl through the air and I bolt towards the chasm. Just enough time to catch the  **bitch**  assaulting my retainer, and before Cover took effect. Gods, it is Lotus. “See ya, sweetie.” Cover takes effect and she vanishes looking like Hadronix.

The Hunter yelps as I hear rocks crumble, she does two sharp whistle, a long one that starts high and goes low, clicks her tongue twice, “Yasei!? Phoenix?!” I approach the edge,  _‘gods, my tail isn’t long enough for that!_

I screech in pain as energy is being ripped out of me,  _“You_ ** _disobeyed_  ** _me, I gave you that power for following my orders, not rushing towards your sense of honor!”_

“Yasei? Ancestors, what is wrong?” I shift back and collapse, utterly drained. Phoenix walks up. “Phoenix? What are you waiting for?”

I can just feel power coming from her glare, Phoenix hisses as she yanks Yato from its sheath, letting it slide away from the cliff. “I don’t tolerate disobedience.” She simply states as she pulls out her Levin Sword. “And I don’t give second chances.” I scream in pain as she effortlessly runs her sword through my Wyrmslayer wound, before removing her sword and rolling me over the edge.

Hadronix releases her grip and grabs me as I pass by, then frantically places something on my back, and pulls two strings at once. The force of the stop causes me to lose my breath for several seconds. “I-I can get us ou-out of this, I j-just need a bit m-more time.”  _‘Gods, I have never heard her lose her cool like that.’_

“But.. she had your… climbing tools?”

Hadronix regains her composure and nods, “Look, we have a choice of being trapped at the bottom until we die, or use an incomplete transporter and have a 25% chance of being obliterated, 5% of being vaporized, 10% chance of being translocated into a lethal position, and a 60% chance of making it out alive.” She looks at me, “Which one?”

I have a weak smile, “A chance of survival sounds nice…”

She breathes and carefully starts pressing buttons on the cubical metal thing.  _‘Gods, this is really bottomless.’_ Even with my enhanced vision I can’t see more than a few hundred feet below me, but then again, I  **am**  bleeding out here. “Hadronix… I don’t,” I wearily state.

“I won’t let you die,” Hadronix says and carefully puts the device in one hand and reaches into her pocket… it has become too dark to see what she actually pulls out. “There.” She does something and continues pressing buttons. “All right.” I let out an ‘eep’ as she suddenly pulls me closer, the parachutes slightly giving in from being so close and we start to drop faster. “Here we go.” She presses a different button, waits two seconds, then drops it. A light appears and I see a different scenery looking into it. The world flashes white and I pass out.


	2. A New World

I open my eyes but am unable to move.  _ ‘How am I not in pain?’ _ What I do know, however is that there is this cloth over me.  _ ‘I was falling.’ _ Did it work? I feel grass under me, surely there wouldn’t be grass at the bottom? I hear someone crying out in pain near me, but I cannot will my body to move. “Breathe Hadronix.” The Hunter tells herself, “I’ve delivered healing injectors to myself before, I can do it again.” She breathes, “One… two,” I can hear her words becoming strained, “Th… By all that is…” Her breathing slowly become stable. “There… Yasei?”

“I’m alive.” I say from under the cloth, “Can’t move.” Then I yelp in pain, “Gods…” My Wyrmslayer wound is pulsing, well there’s the pain...  _ ‘How did I not bleed out already?’ _

“Thank the ancestors.” She pulls the cloth from off of me and gently rolls me over.

“Gods.. you…” She has all of these gashes and rips in her body, then I notice she looks more like her attacker, Lotus was it? The only real difference is that she is the dark stripes are slightly lighter and is in different spots, “Is that… the  **you** you?”

She weakly nods, “Yea. Cover’s effects wore off.”

“And your body, gods…” then I notice the ground around me is  **bathed** in blood. “Gods, is…”  _ ‘How am I alive?!’ _

She shakes her head, “I received the brunt of it, that is the first time my body experienced interdimensional tearing.” I give her a curious look,  _ ‘Then why is the blood over with me?’ _ , “I had to protect you… I’m still your retainer, right?” She somehow manages to joke about it. “Wouldn’t be doing my job if I couldn’t keep you from dying…” She pulls out a needle, it has a clear vial with a red liquid in it, and her expression turns serious, “be glad you can’t move right now, because this will…” She looks up, “Elise?”

“Re…  **GODS** …” I scream, not that I could do much else,  _ ‘It  _ **_hurts_ ** _ …’ _ Then I realize the healing ironically is causing the pain, since I can feel again... “What the…?”

She has a grim smile, “Hurts less if you don’t think about it.”

“I thought you said that is a  **healing** potion?!”

“An emergency one, they are rarer and are generally only used in… well, emergencies. The effects are extremely potent, but it literally burns out, so if we don’t get moving, the healing goes away and we’ll die.”

I freeze in place for a moment, “Not ‘probably’? A ‘chance’?” I force myself to get up, and she removes the parachute from off of me.

She nods, “0% survival rate if we don’t get treated, at best, we got 48 hours.”

“And at worst?” I goad.

She shakes her head, “Move. You don’t want the answer to that.” Everything hurts but it still somehow pales in comparison to my first Wyrmslayer wound. As we limp along to regain some feeling, my retainer pulls out a small device with wings and starts fiddling with it. “VA Hadronix.” The thing lights up, “Find closest settlement.” It takes off on its own.

“I’m going to take a guess that you don’t know where we are?” I look around, there are these strange tall metal mountains in the distance. The grounds around us are slightly barren, there are patches of grass, sure, but also plenty of dirt… and not a single lake in sight.

She shrugs, “Nothing I have seen before. We’ll make it. Can’t say the same for the rest, though.”

A lump forms in my throat, “Lotus, who exactly is she?”

“I assume you mean more than just her name?,” I nod, “Started out as a mutual partnership, an incident happened along the time we spent together, I got what I wanted from the organization I was assisting, apparently she got kicked out later and has been out for my head since.”

“How important was this organization to warrant your death?”

“The best, most prestigious and feared Academy, Ravenholdt Manor. Where the best of the best Rogues in Azeroth live. I’m talking the kind that can swoop into the most heavily guarded buildings, with one man, could murder a King, frame someone else, rob the vault, plant the loot somewhere else, and  _ still _ leave with a bag of gold in  **one** night. It is considered an honor just to be even considered to get a chance at an invite.”

“What did…?”

She shakes her head. “Not now, that’s enough, save your breath.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We assist each other in walking for what felt like hours… and still those metal mountains seemed just as far away. “Operator Hadronix.” A monotone voice spoke… it is that thing she sent off, “Scouting complete, three settlements fou…”

“Closest in terms of time.” She interrupts.

“Affirmative,” It responds, “North-North-East, one hour by fl…”

“Foot, we are on foot.” She interrupts it.

“West-South-East, five hours if moving at a brisk walk.”

“Limping at roughly one third speed.”

“Eighteen hours, assuming no stops.”

“...Ancestors…” She sighs.

“Unreco…”

“Deactivate.” The thing flies on Hadronix’s open hand and she puts it back in her pocket. “We got our work cut out.” She looks uncertain, a far cry from the cocky and headstrong Hunter I have known. “Let’s go… Lady Yasei.”

“Your pets?”

She frowns, her fluffy cheeks falling with it, “...they didn’t respond to my commands, I think Lotus…” For some reason, that causes her composure to shatter and now she seems like a completely different person. “I failed them… I failed her.”

“Her?” She cries and shakes her head but keeps moving. “Right, not now, sorry.”

Nearly another hour in and I hear her whisper, “I don’t think I’ll tame another pet again…” New tears form.

“We can make it, just… believe it.” She slowly nods. In truth, I know I don’t, my back feels naked without Yato… and Ryoma still has my gifted sword… gods, he probably had it destroyed for all I know. And here Hadronix is, without a bow or single arrow, if she has any weapons in her pocket, then she isn’t bothering to get them. I never seen her… no, I could never imagine her so hopeless.

_ ‘Gods, save us, please…’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hadronix and I have been dragging against dirt and grass for hours now, even as the sun beats down on us, we keep moving. My retainer has, thankfully, some water ‘bottles’ in her pocket. She says the bottles are plastic. I unscrew the cap and nearly douse my throat… before she snatches it away, “No, bad idea.”

“But I am dehydrated!”

“Exactly.” She agrees, “Do like this.” She takes a small sip from her bottle, holds it in her mouth, then swallows.

She hands me the bottle, “Alright, I trust you.” I do the same and I am already feeling slightly better.

As we walk I am free to think, sometimes it’s about Hoshido, Nohr, my families…  _ ‘What I could have done better.’ _ Gods, my army… that Lotus rogue is in there… maybe she already took them all out? And what of Phoenix? She seemed like a completely different person… like the one that carelessly killed off everyone in my nightmare.  _ “I have immense power, most of it comes from my father.” _ Did she lose control? I am broken from my thought to hear Hadronix coughing, some blood coming out with it. “Gods…”

She puts her hand… paw  _ ‘For the sake of my sanity, I’m considering it a hand’ _ , up to stop me. “Reach in my pocket… and think about a small cylinder metal object, it is like a lance, but shorter, it can fit in your hand.”

“Okay…” I do as she says and think, I feel something just enter my grip and I pull it out.  _ ‘Wow.’ _ I hand it to her.

“Thanks.” There is a small line near the center and she pulls… revealing a needle… but why is it kept under that cap?

“What are you…” I start.

“Sh…” She staggers and takes a breathe, “Ask me anything.”

“Huh?”

She groans, “Something, just distract me!”

“My ass is as flat as a wooden floorboard!” I all but shout.

Halfway through my sentence Hadronix yells… then laughs. “That… was actually pretty… uh… funny.” Her breathing evens out again. Then tosses the thing to the side.

“What did you do!?”

“An anti-bacterial tonic, I felt a sickness coming. They work, but by the Yaungol’s fire god does it  **burn** .” She is able to reach into her pocket and pull out her bottle, “And with that burn…” She takes a sip, “Comes loss of water.” She points in the near distance, “There, a town.”

Unlike the metallic mountains in the distance, this looks more like a village in Hoshido, some buildings are made of wood, others are of stone. A sense of familiarity comes with those materials. “I told you we would make it.”

For the first time since we got here, she actually smiles, “Yeah, you did.” She reaches into her pocket and… “That’s right, Lotus took my Cover.”

“Huh, why would you be worried? Do you think they’ll attack us on sight?”

“That’s what happened when Sis and I approached the first village in Hoshido.” She pauses, “We’re cosplaying, got that?”

“What is…?

“Cosplaying, dressing up as something else. You… are an elf, I am a red panda.”

“Hadronix… you know I am a terrible liar.” I say, and she swears. “But… I’ll try.”

She pauses, “Reach into my pocket, and think of a small metal cap with a spinning disk on top, the disk has a black and white design on it. Then put it on my head.”

I do so and pull it out. “This looks ridiculous! I would personally pull you aside to see if you are sane!”

“ **We** see it as ridiculous,  **they** won’t.” She smirks. “Looks are deceiving, trust me. Put it on my head.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We approach the town gates… Hadronix said we had 48 hours at best? It has been at least 24, and we are running on about two hours of sleep. Two guards are posted outside, one of them chuckles and whispers to the other, “Hey, check it out, didn’t know the freak show was in town.” My blood boils, but I force myself calm.

“Yea,” the other tries to hide a laugh, “Wonder what the bear is gonna do? Dance on a ball?”

“Peace, Eagle.” She tells me. I give her a strange look, “We need different names right now, I’ll explain later,” Their outfits are so strange compared to Hoshido, Nohrian, or even Lotus’s lack of armor, they have this blue set of clothes on, not a single piece of armor in sight. No swords, no lances… “Eagle…” She gasps, “They got guns.” She notions towards these tiny things on their hips.

“That incredibly loud thing you used?” She nods.

“...Yeah.” She is leaving something out, but I don’t press her. She has her reasons.

“Okay lady,” One of them says, “Nice get-up, but Halloween is nearly half a year away. So go back and get into your actual clothing.” He chuckles.  _ ‘Nothing about Hadronix’s kooky helmet.’ _

“Hold off a moment, man.” The other one turns serious, “Wrong holiday or not, they look pretty injured.”

The first finally takes notice of our injuries, he whistles, “Damn, you’re right. Um, sorry for joking, let’s… take you to the doctor and get you patched up, alright?”

“Yes, please.” I say and nearly stumble as Hadronix loses her footing, “Not now…”  _ ‘I need a new name… gods, um…’ _ “Hinoka!”  _ ‘Gods, I am such an idiot!  _ **_Why_ ** _ did I say that?’ _ “We are almost about to get help!”

“I’ll get your friend, miss…?”

“Eagle.”

He nods, “Miss… Hinoka? Was it?” She weakly nods, “Here, hold onto me, I’ll help you out.” I slowly scoot her towards the man, “Wow, that fur… it feels real. You must spend a lot of time tending to it.”

She nods, “Yeah… maybe a bit too much.” She quickly looks around, then turns towards the one helping her. “Hey, can I ask you both a question?”

They both look at her and we slow down walking, if just by a little, “Of course, what do you need to know?”

I barely pick up a small whirring sound, _‘The same sound I’ve come to associate with her gadgets’_ , “I need to know exactly where and exactly when we are, starting from the most broad measurement to the most accurate.”

They both pause, but otherwise don’t seem to react to the absurdity of the request. The one holding on to Hadronix answers, “The planet is called Earth, we are on the continent of North America, the state is called New York, and we are on the countryside, the closest city is right…” he points to the metal skyscrapers, “there, is Empire City.”

_ ‘Not a single place he named made even the slightest amount of sense to me.’ _ Hadronix’s look gave away the same reaction. “And the date,” The other one starts, “is June the 1st, 2009.”

She mouths ‘not a damn clue’ to me. “Thank you, sirs… I don’t suppose you also have a map?”

They shake their heads, “No ma’am… but I’m sure the newspaper stand will.”

“Miss Eagle, since you are fine walking, I can go get a map for your friend here…?”

“Yes, please.” He nods and walks off.  _ ‘Newspaper? Continent? State? City? June? Where are we?’ _ I don’t even care what Hadronix did to those men to get us that information.

“Here we are, misses.” The blue-clothed man brings us to a set of windows in front of a white building with red stripes, “We’ll bring you in and use our…” he flashes some sort of metal tag, “Police badges to get you to a doctor just that much faster.”

“Got your map, ma’am.” The other arrives and hands Hadronix the map.

“Thank you.”

_ ‘Now how are they going to get us inside?’ _ The lead us right into the… the windows separated? And a cool breeze hits us as they lead us through another set of moveable windows. “Good evening, Offi… Oh my god! What happened to those two?” A woman behind a glass and raised seating gasps.

The one not holding Hadronix… Hinoka, flashes his badge thing, “These two need immediate medical attention.”

“Y-yes, o-of course!” She picks up a black… thing and pushes buttons, “Doctor… yes,” She speaks into it, “the ER… yes… thank you.” She puts it back down, “He will be here within the minute.” She looks right at us, “You are in good hands… after we get you out of those costumes.”

I am about to protest but Hadronix,  _ ‘I can’t keep thinking of her as Hinoka, I’m going to start crying if I do… she’s  _ **_dead_ ** _ because of me,’ _ gently nudges me, “Ow…” I silently whimper, she shakes her head. ‘I got this handled.’ she mouths.

“I am… Dear Lord! Where’s the stretchers? I said bring them with me!” A man in a pure white outfit exclaims, with a white mask over his mouth and nose. Two more men dressed in the exact same manner come in, with rolling cots. “Officers, if you don’t mind helping…?”

“Sure thing.” They reply. “Alright, this is Miss Eagle, the other is Miss Hinoka. Easy now, you two.” Even with the gentless I whimper in pain, that emergency tonic must be starting to wear off.  _ ‘Just a little longer.’ _

“We’ll have you stable in the hour, I promise.”

“Thanks… Dear Lord, was it?”

He gives me a strange look and laughs, “Oh! Sorry,” He says as we are being moved, “I was caught off guard when I saw just how bad you two looked. My name is Howard Revver, I am the Chief Doctor here.”

I nod, “That does sound like a more realistic name.”

He chuckles, “Yes, sorry for the confusion. What are your last names?”

_ ‘Uh… Hadronix, help?’ _ She seems to be slipping in and out,  _ ‘Not now girl!’ _ “Eagle is… an orphan, she doesn’t know hers.” She finally speaks, “My family took her in as a sister, the family…” She coughs.

“Breathe, save your energy. Don’t worry, I’ll ask again later. Your lives aren’t worth losing over a name.”

_ ‘Gods, no. I need you awake, we aren’t in costumes!’ _

Hadronix stays awake through sheer will, even as she is sweating and seemingly out of it, “Listen, we are not in… costumes… and these are our clothes on top,” The whirring sound dies out afterwards.

“Ah, I understand, thank you for that information, I’ll be sure to relay it to the others. Now please, rest.”  _ ‘Thank the gods that thing doesn’t need to be on for it to keep working.’ _ Hadronix pitifully nods, then she lazily looks at me and smiles, ‘We did it.’ she mouths and extends her arm out, I hold her hand and smile.

“Sedatives! We need them asleep for this! Slow the heartbeat, the furry one is losing too much blood, let’s move! We’ve got lives on the line!” I barely register a needle poking me it causes me to fall asleep… but the smile stays.

_ ‘We made it.’ _


	3. Dollars? We Have Gold Coins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei and Hadronix recover at the hospital, yet they can't stay, as according to the hunter, they broke some laws. Despite being unnerved by how quickly they end up on the run, Yasei still trusts Hadronix. Not that she really has much choice in the matter, considering everything in this world is so different compared to Nohr and only the other seems to have any good amount of knowledge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous. I am here to throw copious amounts of headcanon at everyone.
> 
> Slowly inching along, since I haven't actually finished this off yet. So updates every three to four days until then.

I wake up sore, various things stuck in me, there are even more of them in Hadronix, as well as a clear… plastic, was it? Thing over her mouth, a plastic bending rod on it. “Ah, Miss Eagle, you are awake.” The Doctor from earlier says,  _ ‘Doctor… Lord? No, that’s not right.’ _ “I am pleased to announce that the both of you are stable and are in the recovering stage, I have ordered bed rest for the next day.” He smiles the whole time, but I am catching a scent of… something, it is like grease, “Hinoka told us yesterday,”  _ ‘Yesterday!?’ _ “That you were adopted, as such, I need to wait until she wakes up for her to sign this.” He pulls out a sheet of paper on a wooden board, with this small thin metal thing clipped to the top. It sort of looks like one of those fountain pens Leo…  _ ‘Gods, Leo…’ _ “Miss Eagle, are you okay?”

He wipes away some of my tears that I didn’t even realize I was shedding. “B-bad memories…” Well, it isn’t a complete lie.

“My sincerest apologies. Anyway, as I said, I will leave this beside her bed, if you are up when she wakes up, please, use press that button on your right side, and a nurse will come and assist her should her eyesight be blurry.” I nod, “Excellent! Now, I have more to attend to, may you two have a speedy recovery.”

I turn my head over to the sleeping Hadronix, and once again the thought races through me  _ ‘We made it!’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I see… yes ma’am, I can read just fine, thank you, though.” I wake up and see Hadronix is sitting up, a… nurse, was it? She leaves. Hadronix has a scowl on her face afterwards.

“Ha… Hinoka?” I ask, she has irritation around her.

“Doesn’t matter which bloody dimension one ends up in, everyone just  **loves** contracts…” She scoffs, “Then that nurse had the  **nerve** to read it to me incorrectly…” She reads over it at an amazing speed, “...dollar?” She pauses and calms down, “Currency, of course, breathe...”

“Our last name?”

“Oh right,” She shakes her head no as she says,  _ ‘The scent is also pungent, why is she lying?’ _ , “Cloudsinger. You were alongside me, your adoptive sister, and an aunt and uncle, who brother and sister, not married.” Then she mouths, while covering part of her mouth, ‘Cloudsinger while we are here.’

_ ‘Huh? Okay.’  _ “That is… pretty specific.”

A smile graces her face, “It is… Raven is the ‘aunt’ in the example, her brother is Chen, and the niece is Lili… and since Raven calls me ‘sis’.” Yet once more, she shakes her head ‘no’.

“But wouldn’t that make two aunts?”

She nods, “Yes, but that is less believable.”

“...I trust you, as always.”

She startles at the statement like she was just struck, before slowly relaxing and forming a smile, “...That means a lot.”  _ ‘First time she said that.’ _ “Now then, I hope a sack of gold coins is worth more than… $1,300.” She signs the bottom.

“If not?” She shakes her head, “Let me guess, don’t think about it?”

“You’re getting it.” She nods. Then presses the button to her right, “Uh oh…” She quickly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a sack, “Can’t let them see me do that magic trick…” She sheepishly smiles.

Doctor… Dear? No… regardless, the doctor who greeted us arrives. “I see you are awake and well, Miss Hinoka… and making wonderful progress, I honestly did not expect to see you sitting up.”

She giggles with fake enthusiasm, “My family has always been a bit on the resistant side, we joke about how our extra… mass, does that for us.” She jiggles her stomach for emphasis.  _ ‘She is a terrifyingly good liar.’ _ She hands him the board, “Here is that… and, well I hope this isn’t a problem, but…” She pulls out the sack, “My family lives far out in the middle of nowhere” I can barely make out the whirring again  _ ‘It sounds strained though, it must be reaching its limit’ _ , “And we live off the land, so we normally don’t carry dollars. But I do have gold coins… if that makes up the difference?”

“Actual gold?”

“Yes sir!” She opens the sack and the man’s jaw just plummets. He pulls out a total of a dozen coins and gives them a critical look, then pushes the sack back. “They’re really that valuable?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The good mood is lost as soon as it comes, “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this… but be  **very** careful with that, this world is sadly, packed with people who would not hesitate to do whatever they can to take that from you.” I gulp.

“Yes sir, I understand. We are clear to leave, correct?” The whirring shuts off after the question.

“That is right! I am so happy I could assist you both.” He leaves.

“You were off worse than me, how’d…” She gets up without a problem and shushes me. She places the sack in her pocket and pulls out a healing tonic in an actual glass container instead of a syringe.

“We are stable enough to safely drink one,” She whispers, “I didn’t have a chance to give this to you earlier. That Nurse was a complete pain. Open up.” I do so and swallow some of the vile liquid. She pulls it away, corks it, then puts it in her pocket, “Let’s go… we are on a time limit.”

My blood runs cold, “What? But we are healed!” I follow her.

“They have cameras, devices that can record visual footage… and I don’t have my portable EMP with me.”

“Huh?”  _ ‘Gods, did she forget I don’t  _ **_know_ ** _ must of this stuff?’ _

“They have a… moving painting of everything that happened in there. They also most likely have every word recorded, too.”

I stop in my tracks, but she attempts drags me, “Then that means…”

She gravely nods, “They will find out I manipulated him, and I used what will probably be considered illegal medicine. Which is why we need to leave  **now** !”

“...and I thought everything was going so well.”  _ ‘Gods, we just got here and we are already breaking rules and becoming deserters!’ _

Hadronix slows me down as we enter the main room with the moving windows, “Smile, say hello’s, be friendly… just not  too friendly.”  _ ‘That makes no sense!’ _

I do as she says though and we are back outside without a hitch,  _ ‘I would be dead twenty times over without her.’ _ She immediately takes me by the arm, “Where can we go?”

She motions towards the metal skyscrapers, “Empire City. According to the map, it is a very crowded and populated area, we’ll just hide in plain sight.” She says as we exit the village.

“How? Does your mind-control thing work that well? I heard it struggling in there.”

“I’ll set up camp on the way there, thankfully I still have my workshop tent, I’ll scrounge together what I can and make another Cover… I’ll deconstruct one of my other gadgets if I have to, we need the Cover more than anything here.” We start walking the barren area, gods, just a few minutes back there is a semi-populated town… now? Some grass, some trees, and dirt.

We walk for hours, yet this city seems so far away. “How far?” I ask that night while in her tent,  _ “I would have brought out the tent with the bed, but that’s back in Nohr.” _ She told me when I noticed the distinct lack of the gods-given bed.  _ “This is my workshop tent, actually.” _

She holds a moment before answering,  _ ‘That’s right, peace and quiet while she is working.’ _ “A few days… let me guess, it looks closer than it is, right?” She pushes her chair back… it’s kind of cute how her feet, er paws, don’t reach the floor in her normal form.

“Well yea, I mean, the same thing happens with the Bottomless Canyon, but..."

She giggles, “Well, that is just how large the skyscrapers are… er, those metal mountains.”

"How can they be so large?" I ask, "They're so thin compared to Krakenburg." She shrugs. "You don't know?"

"Yasei, I'm not all knowing.  Honestly, all of the technology here so far is barely in the Alpha stages in Azeroth… uh,  **really** early testing stages, if we even have something like it at all.” She nods, “I’m sure if the Elite Engineering League made a dozen groundbreaking inventions, then Azeroth would look a lot like this.” She takes a sip of water, “Think on that over, and I’ll finish these off now.” She pushes her chair back, puts that strange glass thing over her eyes, and resumes working.

_ ‘Hadronix, you are truly a blessing.’ _ I smile and make myself comfortable on the ground… at least there is a layer of cloth between me and the dirt/grass combination.  _ ‘But…’ _ I get back up, “Hey, why didn’t you climb back up?”

She pauses and I can barely hear her breathing become clipped, “I couldn’t.” She simply replies, “Later…” I nod and fall asleep.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again I wake up and see a human. I am about to shriek when I remember something, “I take it you made Cover?”

Hadronix nods, this form is actually a lot like that  **one** female soldier body she had, slightly tanned skin, teal eyes, nearly blonde hair, slightly defined muscles, a basic vibrant red sleeved shirt and a pair of blue pants. “Stormstout…” She eventually says, “Yasei Stormstout and Hadronix Stormstout.” She pauses, “Raised by my parents, yours died shortly after you were born and were sent to an orphanage.”

I frown, “But I thought…”

She shakes her head, “They have video and audio data on us, things have to change.” She hands me another of the device, “Test it, I need to make sure I properly changed the eye color, ear shape, and teeth sharpness.” I hesitate, “By test I mean just press the button, technically there isn’t anything to test.” I nod and I feel a little… queasy. “Ears, rounded. Eyes, blue. Open wide.” I do so, “Good, and dirty brown hair, perfect!”

“Why did you change the hair?”

“My liege… purple is not a natural hair color.” She smiles. “Well, maybe in your world… but better safe than sorry.” I nod, “Alright, with these ready, next stop is Empire City!” With that, we exit the ‘workshop’ tent, which we quickly break down and she shoves in her pocket, then resume our travels.

About half an hour in I bring up, “You said you ‘couldn’t’ climb up…”

“I couldn’t.” She nods. “Yasei, I literally lack the muscle to pull myself up… or even draw a bow.” She stops, “And I  **can’t** do anything about it, my body is unable to develop it.”

“But you  **do** draw a bow.” I point out.

A smirk forms, but her mood is still sour, “Engineering; I have made a number of devices that I can use. Like, my bow has a…” She pauses, “The point is that without those devices… I’m near useless.”

“So, when Lotus stole your climbing equipment…?”

“I was done for. I had three options: Hold on for as long as I can for help. Do what I did with you, slow my fall and open a portal…” She trails off.

“Or?” I push.

“...Give up.” Silence overtakes the journey from there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You mentioned Empire City, but that's it. Where's Cole?"
> 
> "Next chapter."


	4. Hot as a Fresh Pile of Feces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei and Hadronix resume their journey towards Empire City, the two have already shared long discussions about each other, since there isn't much else to do. Along the way, they are forced to deal with some approaching forces.
> 
> Then the Nohrian Draconic Princess has to deal with the single worst place she has ever been to... a sewer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous. This should be a well known fact, so why am I still typing it?
> 
> I hope Yasei is coming out as more Human than Dragon compared to 'Thirst for Blood', though I won't actually be getting around to addressing that topic until around the half-way point of this story.

It doesn’t seem to matter where I am… nothing is as dull as traveling, and this place is even worse than Nohr’s wilderness! The only thing keeping my interest are the ‘skyscrapers’, every day they grow taller and taller,  _ ‘How do those things not fall over? All of these are like the height of Castle Krakenburg, without the supports.’ _ Days pass by and Hadronix and I learn nearly everything about each other. She admits she has never opened up this much before.

“Never had to… I typically travel alone.” She looks away, “And well, how do I put this?” She pauses, “When you are in your ‘Human’ state, you are easy to talk to.” She nods to herself, “It’s a unique quality, I’ve never felt so at ease with anyone.”

“Easy to talk to?” Now that I think about it, Phoenix made a somewhat similar comment one day during our travels.  _ ‘When I get my hands on that…’ _ I am broken from my thoughts as I hear her crying. “No! Don’t cry!” I hold her by her shoulders, “Um… let it out now? Get it off your chest? I know that helps me.”  _ ‘Camilla would know exactly what to say here.’ _

The tears slow, but don’t stop, “You’re right,” She smiles.

She shakes her head, “No… here.” She brings her tent out, _‘but it isn’t even mid-day!’_ “I am going to need a stiff drink for this…” We walk in and she opens a white cube thing, “refrigerator.” She says as she pulls out a bottle of beer, “Want one?” I nod and she grabs another then closes it. “So,” she pulls out a small metal thing and took the top off, “This was back when I was a brash, inexperienced, stuck-up know-it-all, before I even was properly trained to be a Hunter.” She already takes a gulp, “I was traveling the deserts of Silithid and ended up in a village there.”

“Not that I am going to catch most of these names, but I promise I will pay attention.” I offer a smile and take a smile sip of the beer.

“That is all I am asking for here…” She went over every tiny detail, regardless of how much it has affected her,  _ ‘And she was keeping it all bottled up inside…’ _ By the end of it, she was drunk and sprawled out across the floor. “Thank you Yasei… I needed that.” She fell asleep soon after.

I am only slightly tipsy myself, since I didn’t really like the taste and handed her mine. “I’m glad to have helped you out…” I yawn and join her on the floor.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up to Hadronix frantically shoving me, “Damn it girl, wake up!”

I jolt up, “We’re under attack!?” I reach for… Yato isn’t with me. At least I have my Dragonstone.

“We would be idiots to attack them, the police, I mean. My armor might be able to hold back a few bullets, but I doubt yours can.”

“You have ar…”

“Not now!” I close my mouth,  _ ‘Don’t think, let her do that.’ _ She paces for a few seconds and I hear some sort of high-pitched alarm.

“By the order of…” Hadronix snaps her fingers and the sounds outside dull.

She then clicks her tongue, “Got it.” She has that smirk whenever she knows she has things covered. “It’s risky, I  **need** you to fully trust me, but we can pull it off.”

“You know I would gladly put my life in your hands. I trust you.”

She has a sad smile, “Here…” She hands me a device like the one she gave Raven before the battle at Fort Jinya, “This is a Stealthman 5,000.” she reaches in her pocket again, “And this is a standard smoke pellet.” It looks like a small white pebble. “I will exit first and grab their attention, after you hear gunshots, you will rip through the back side of the tent… there is a small seam there that you can actually rip through… and  **run** as fast as you can. The second you hear a gunshot, or any other loud sound that is both headed in your direction and is close, drop that pellet, run for about five more seconds, press the button on that Stealthman and  **do not move** . Stay there until they leave.”

“What about you?” I frown, “Won’t they…”

“I am a Hunter, I have been trained in the Trueshot Lodge, and I have many  tricks I have not shown you yet.” She pulls out that gun she used to break the argument up in Hoshido. “After they leave, and are out of earshot, keep moving to Empire City, I will be there later.”

“Al-alright, I trust you to be there… gods know I can’t survive here on my own…” She kisses me on the cheek, “Uh…?”

“Good luck kiss… you don’t do that where you are from?” I slowly shake my head, “Oh… whoops.” She giggles, “I got this.” She breathes and leaves, and I freeze in fear.  _ ‘Please let this work, please let this work, please don’t  _ **_die_ ** _.’ _

“Keep your hands in the air!” I hear a loud voice shout. “For the crimes of illegal drug use, identity theft, and…” A  **demonic** loud boom fires, “Ma’am! Put the weapon down! Do not make us use force! We can settle this without…”  ***BOOM*** I run towards the seam, which I find easily thanks to my enhanced vision and take a breath. One more loud bang and I rip through, shifting into my dragon form for the superior speed.

“In the name of God… what is that?!” I hear them redirect towards me.  _ ‘That… was a mistake.’ _ My heart is hammering in my chest,  _ ‘She just told me to run, why did I…’ _ I keep moving… and I realize they actually cannot keep up with me!

They can’t keep up with me! I redouble my efforts with a giggle as I literally leave them in the dust. They can’t… I hear a loud buzzing sound and a  _ flying _ metal object is encroaching on me with incredible speed.  _ ‘No.’ _ It is the  **only** one out here that can…  _ ‘This is stupid… but… surely destroying one thing is worth it? Just one?’ _ I make the split second decision of turning to face the metal flying thing and prepare a stream of water. There is a man hanging off the side with a longer version of Hadronix’s gun. I fire my stream of water and it easily tears through the metal, the flying thing shakes violently and the man falls to his death… the machine explodes as it lands. I grimace but resume to running, now that nothing else there can catch me.  _ ‘Gods, I hope this doesn’t prevent Hadronix from coming…’ _

After I lose sight of them I shift,  **very** carefully place the pellet in my pocket and activate the device. The world around still seems clear, but as the loud machines and other people come by, it is certain that they cannot see me. They search a little further, to the sides, and I hear them call off the search… I wait. And I wait.

“If I had known you could run  **that** fast…” I jump out of my scales and the field fades…

I look around, “A-are you a… gh-ghost?” Tears start forming… but then I notice that some of the landscape in front of me looks distorted. “Is that how I look when using this… thing?”

The distortion ends and Hadronix appears, a look of disapproval on her face, “No, there is no distortion emitted from a Stealthman… I have a type of brewed liquid that can immediately change to keep me blended into the scenery…” She pauses and crosses her arms, “Is there any other nifty tricks you want to share?”

“I can sort of glide… but you have seen everything else now.”

She sighs and uncrosses her arms, then gestures in the direction of a rising cloud of smoke, “That could have been prevented…”

“I, didn’t mean…”

Her expression relaxes, “Peace, I can plan around that… I am just infinitely thankful you did that in your shifted form… we means I will only have to re-calibrate my Cover… without my workshop…” She pinches the bridge of her nose. “And until I do, I will be rather publicly known, at least by the law, as an accomplice to a murderer.” I am about to open my mouth but she resumes, “I can work around that.” She helps me up, or rather she offers her arm and I pull myself up, “Come on, let’s get in there.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrive… or rather, we sneak into the city through a disgusting… revolting place Hadronix calls the ‘sewage’ system. It gets so bad that she hands me some sort of ‘gas mask’ she calls it. “How can you handle this just fine?” My voice sounds kind of echoey with it on.

She shrugs, “Well for one, my senses aren’t enhanced like yours. And for two, this actually isn’t that far off from the sweat, oil, and grease I am used to… a little more intense sure, but manageable.” She stops us.

“Whoa!” I exclaim as I see a steep drop below us, “...ewww…” I can see human waste down there.

“This is truly a huge city if they need this much space.”

“Sh…” I say and she turns towards me, “I can make out some people talking.”

“Bums, probably, homeless people.” She has a frown on her face.

“So they are forced into this… hell?”

“Nohr has people living under bridges and in alleyways, don’t they? Well, this is no different. Well, just a lot more vile.”

“Cole! Hold on brother! I can’t…” A voice starts wheezing, “can’t keep up, man!”

“Lay off the greasy pizza and run a few laps, you’ll see changes quickly!” Another voice shouts back. I poke my head around the corner and can barely make them out in the near lack of light. One man, wearing a outer jacket,  _ ‘how is he not burning up?’,  _ a pair of pants… black colored glasses?  _ ‘Is he blind?’ _ is the one keeling over, catching his breath. He is rather… plump and has shiny black hair, the bangs are pulled up while the rest is brushed down.

The other is lean and rather well built, he is wearing a sort of tattered, old, sleeved shirt and some raggedy old pair of blue pants, his hair is shaved off. He doesn’t seem to be breaking a sweat, “Man Cole, you know I can’t resist the call of that large slice… dripping with grease, pepperoni, and a heaping amount of cheese…” He holds his stomach, “Great, now I am hungry! How much farther?”

“Look Zeke, if you’re struggling now, stay here and I’ll finish it, then I’ll turn right back around and I’ll order the pizza, deal?”

He laughs, “Whoo, hell yeah! You got yourself a deal! Now I am going to try uh… not get too smelly here.”

Cole chuckles with him, “I thought so, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I hide back behind the corner.

“They don’t look homeless to me, at least that Zeke guy doesn’t.” I tell her. I notice she is raising an eyebrow at me, “What?”

She smirks, “You were focusing on the one guy quite intensely…”

A small flush forms, thankfully hidden by the darkness, “Well, yea, it’s rather hard to see and I was trying…” The water near us splashes…

“Woah I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Cole appears. “And uh… what’s with the gas mask?”

“Really sensitive sense of smell… and no, you weren’t.…” I shy away.

“She was ogling you.” Cole coughs in response.

“You… shush your mouth!” I turn towards him, “I was most certainly not!”

He smirks,  _ ‘just like Hadronix’ _ , “Yeah, sure… just like your face isn’t as red as a cherry right now.” My eyes widen and I huff,  _ ‘Wait, this mask isn’t hiding my entire face!?’ _ . “Well, it’s nice to be complemented, even if it is by staring, by a beautiful woman…” My heart skips a beat, “But I already have a girlfriend… I’m sure someone with your looks could charm any man.” His voice drops, “I’d avoid Zeke over there, though.”

“Y-yeah… th-thanks, Cole.”

He back off and raises an eyebrow, “I didn’t tell you my name.”

“I-I have… be-better hearing th-than most.” I send a glare at Hadronix,  _ ‘Help me you buffoon! I’m stumbling like some sort of girl with a… crush. Gods, I just  _ **_met_ ** _ the man…’ _

“Interesting, well since you know mine, might as well tell me yours.”

“I-I am Yasei… and this… unhelpful friend here is Hadronix.” I stick out my tongue, not that she could see it through this mask.

“Unhelpful, sure.” She points a finger at me, “She wouldn’t last one day in the city without me.” She winks.

“Uh-huh, well… nice to meet you, Yasei and Hadronix, but uh… I got to go blow some of my hard-earned money on my best friend who doesn’t have a job right now… so yeah, see ya!”

He is about to jump when I blurt out, “Wait!” Hadronix gives me a weird look, “Give him some gold!” I whisper harshly.

She crosses her arms, “You want me to give money to a complete stranger? You do realize that is how people start running over you, right?”

“But…”

“I appreciate the thought,” He interrupts me, “But your friend here is right, keep it for yourself… you are going to need it more than me.” He jumps away this time.

“Cole! What the hell man? Did you miss a jump?” Zeke pauses, “And what is with that smirk?”

“You won’t believe this but… I just met two hot women over there… a shame you couldn’t make the jumps…” My body heat shoots up,  _ ‘I’m not beautiful… I’m  _ **_hot_ ** _!’ _

“Bullshit man, that is the largest pile of bullshit that has ever came out of your mouth!”

“Sure… you keep thinking that…” The conversation start to fade as they get too far away.

Hadronix is smirking at me, “You have a crush…”

“And you don’t? You saw him, right? Or is this gas mask causing hallucinations?”

“Yasei has a crush!” She starts singing, “Yasei has a crush!”

“Shush you!” I cross my arms, “Can we get out of here now?”

“Only if you admit…”

“No! As my retainer, I order you to stop that!”

She giggles and does a mock salute, “Yes ma’am!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Near the start, for the part where Hadronix mentions Silithus, the whole of it can be read on 'Engineering a Remedy' Chapter 5.


	5. Get a Job!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the two are in Empire City properly, the first thing Hadronix suggests is get a job. Yasei, taking her own skills in consideration, assumes this will be a simple task. At one point during her job hunt, one noticeable fact comes to dawn on her...
> 
> She normally prefers her Dragon over her Human, so why is her Dragon suddenly so quiet while her Human is asserting dominance?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous, but I can say that I own this increasingly ridiculous plot.

Hadronix’s knowledge ran out when we hit the streets. Well, most of it. “We need actual dollars.” She informs me, “Carrying ‘coins’ will just make us a target.”

I was about to point out how her gold coins are also in her pocket dimension thing, but I decide against it,  _ ‘She has her reasons,’ _ “And how do we do that?”

She sheepishly smiles, “I… can only take two wild guesses. One is to find someone who will trade gold for dollars.”

“...and two?”

“Get a job.”

“We’re two rather strong women with great reflexes, let’s try a job first, it can’t be that hard.”

She rolls her eyes, “And now you jinxed it…”

It is harder than I thought… much harder.  _ ‘Highest level of education? Previous work experience? People to refer to? Why not just give me a chance and show you what I can do?’ _ I lie my head on my hands after what, the one-hundred millionth rejection? I am sitting on some steps, they hurt my rear, even through my armor… clothes, I mean. Somehow Hadronix told me that the clothes are as strong as my armor, that only my appearance has changed.  _ ‘I just let it slide and accept her explanation.’ _

“I’m not normally the type to rub victories in, but,” Hadronix starts, “I told you so.”

I sigh, “Did you get any luck, at least?” She doesn’t respond at first and I see that smirk on her face again. “What did you do?”

She pulls out a letter, “I spent my entire time in one spot, showing off what I could do and bam.” She hands me the letter.

“The First Sons?” I read outloud, “But you’re a woman.”

She sighs, “It isn’t literal, Yasei.”

I smirk, “I’m just messing with you. So anyway,” I start reading and I am bombarded with huge, complex, and highly descriptive wording. I fold the letter after the first sentence, “Well, I was going to ask if you could help me get in but… yeah.”

“I’m truly sorry about that.” She grabs the letter back, “Don’t give up, I know someone like you can get  _ a  _ job.” She pauses, “Just… try to save prostitution for a last resort, yea?”

I raise an eyebrow at the sudden warning, “What?”

Her face flushes, “You never…” She giggles, “It’s selling yourself for… serving others.” She winks. “Not like a lifetime thing, but just a ses…”

“I get it!” My face is beaming red. “Just go do your First Son thing, I’ll find… something…”

She flashes me a concerned look, “Here.” She hands me three gold coins, “If you can’t find anything by tonight, there is a ‘pawn’ shop at this…” She gives me a small sheet of paper, “address, give them the gold, and they’ll give you cash.”

“So you did…” I start.

She shakes her head, “It is a highly skewed deal, you are not getting nearly as much as you should, which is why I said if you can’t find anything.”

I put the coins away and slowly nod, “Okay. Where will we meet up at?”

She shrugs and smirks, “The sewers!” She skips off before I could yell her down.

As soon as she is out of sight I bury my head in my hands,  _ ‘None of them even gave me a second thought…’ _ Tears threaten to fall.  _ ‘Why is this so hard? If they just…’ _

“Thanks again, Cole.” I hear a soft female voice say. “That extra money really helped out the hospital.”

I see a short brown haired woman holding Cole,  _ ‘must be his girlfriend.’ _ “I do what I can… as long as I can pay my bills…” He smiles at her, “You mean the world to me, Trish, you know that?”

She giggles, “I know.”

I turn and look away, “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow? Maybe we can make room for a dinner date?” He offers.

“That sounds lovely. I’ll call you tomorrow, be safe.” A pick up the sound of a kiss and my heart sinks,  _ ‘Stop being jealous, he said I could get anyone.’ _

“Will do.” then I hear him cross the  _ street… _ he’s heading in my general direction… I plunge my head down in an effort to hide myself from the world. “Hey, miss.”  _ ‘Gods, no. Don’t let him see me like this.’ _ “You okay?”

He touches my shoulder and I jump in place, “Yeah, as gr-great as I c-can be…”

He pauses, “That voice, Yasei?” I don’t bother turning and just nod. “God, what happened? You look like shit… er, no offense.”

“None taken, I feel like shit… I probably still smell like it, too.”  _ ‘Probably? I can smell it as clear as day.’ _

“Where’s your friend at? Hadronix, was it?”

“We were looking for jobs and she got lucky… I haven’t gotten one yet.”

“Hold on, neither of you had jobs? Those clothes aren’t exactly cheap, you know. Even through the caked on grime I can tell those are pretty costly.”

_ ‘It’s an illusion’ _ , I want to tell him,  _ ‘if I were to turn it off, you would run and yell and call me a freak!’ _ “Found them…” I lie. I finally decide to turn and face him, red stained eyes and all.

Thankfully he doesn’t push it, “Do you know how to ride a bike?”

“A what?” Hadronix never told me anything about a ‘bike’.

He chuckles, “You’re joking, right? Those two wheeled cheap means of transportation people use instead of cars.” As if talking about it summons them two, people pass by on the thing he is describing, he points, “Those.”

I shake my head, “Never rode one, always walked."

“Ah.”

“May I ask why?”

“Well, you see…” He starts off, “I work as a bike courier for the local post office, and we are usually understaffed, so I was hoping if you did know, I could put it in a good word for you.”

That’s like, “Like a… reference you mean?” He could… help me?

“Exactly, but sadly you…"

“Teach me!” I cut him off.

I actually startle him and he takes a step back before going to his previous spot, “Woah, hold down on the enthusiasm.” He smiles, “You need a bike first.”

_ ‘And a bike requires… she won’t get mad if I use the gold on a bike… right? I mean, it’s gonna get me a job… and she must have thousands of pieces left.’ _ “Then let’s get one!”

“...and you need money from a job to get a bike so you can learn to ride to get a job.”

I shake my head, “Open your hand.” He hesitates but does so, and I shove the three gold coins in his hand, “Let’s go shopping!”

“By God, is this… real gold?” He pauses, “Hold on, you were asking your friend to give me this?”

“Yup.” I smile.

“This is…” He shakes his head than pockets the gold, “Alright, you got a deal, but take my advice.” He points down the street… the same area that Hadronix said, “That one is a rip off, you will want to go to the one I am going to show you.”

“It is? But Hadronix said…”

He smiles and I just feel warm,  _ ‘Why is my Human suddenly so… in control?’ _ , “Yea, it has Pawn Shop on it, all right. But that is the ‘tourist trap’, there is a local, well hidden, one in one of the side alleys over there.  _ That _ is the one that ‘we’ go to. And by we I mean the people who live here.”

“And you have no problem helping this random stranger?”  _ ‘Probably should have asked that earlier…’ _

“You didn’t spare a second thought when offering these coins, I can tell you got a good heart in you. You and Trish could probably become good friends just from the same trait.”

“That’s the woman that was with you across the street, your girlfriend.”

He smile fades,  _ ‘Whoops’ _ , “You are lacking some serious tact, aren’t you?” I gulp, “Looks like I’m going to have to teach you about privacy and bike riding.”

“...Yes please.” He chuckles and starts to lead me. “Oh, I kinda have to be back in the sewers by nightfall.”

“...Alright.” He hesitates, “but when you are ready for that job interview, make sure you wash…”

“Will do!”

The walk is silent… well, silent as in ‘we’ aren’t talking. But the ‘cars’ and the ‘horns’ and all the yelling and talking are getting to me, I start to shrink into me some and he takes notice, “Loud noises bother you that much?”

“Why can’t they just get along…?”

“That’s life, I’m afraid.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Welcome to the Hole in the Wall!” A man even chunkier than Zeke announces, the man has glasses on him, that aren’t black. “Buying? Se…” He squints his eyes, “Cole?”

“That’s my name. Glad to ‘see’ you’re still alive and kicking there, Larry.”

He laughs, then coughs a bit. “Hell you know, the Devil won’t take my soul till I make those big G’s… whatcha here for… hold on.” He squints at me, “That ain’t Trish? You two didn’t uh…?”

“Nah, she wants a job and shows potential,”

“...At a pawn shop?”

Cole laughs, “No way man, no offense, but she has this steely determination and as you know, since I told you, the Post Office I work at is understaffed, so we thought to get her a decent bike, get her rolling and see if she can prove herself.”

“Well, you know the drill, show me what you got, and I’ll show you what you’ll get.” Cole smirks as he deftly puts three gold coins on the table. “Uh, Cole?”

The smirk stays, “Yea, Larry?”

He picks one up, “My eyes have to be failing me, right? I can’t be looking at solid gold here.” He rubs his glasses and takes another look, “In God’s name, I have just gone colorblind.”

He laughs, “I’m afraid you are not that far gone,  **these** ,” He picks up one and places it back down, “are the real deal.”

He lets out a lively laugh, “Damn son, I have bought a lot of that cheap shit, but actual gold? This is a first. Where’d you find this? Finally found that glowing batch in all that shit you wander through?”

He sucks in a breath, “Not that I don’t trust you, but I’m sure you understand when I have to say it’s a secret, right?”

He nods, “No offense taken, I don’t need to tell you people would  **murder** for this kind of stuff.” I gulp,  _ ‘Murder? And Hadronix is walking around with an entire  _ **_sackful_ ** _ … sure it is in her pocket dimension thing… but still.’ _ “You okay missy? You just went pale on us.”

“J-Just surprised he had real gold o-on him…”

“Uh Cole, that stutter isn’t you know, permanent?” He whispers.

“She gets flustered easily.” Larry nods. “Anyway, what’s the deal for this?”

“Simple, I don’t have enough cash for it… well, not without sorely ripping you off, and I hate to do that to such a semi-regular customer.”

“Alright, how about just one, then?” He offers.

“It’s still cutting short, but man, if you really want that bike and you can’t wait for me to bring in some extra moolah…” he shakes his head, “That’s just my opinion, it’s your gold, man what’s your call?

Cole actually looks at me for a brief moment, “We’ll just do that one and come back later for the others, alright?”

He frowns, “Smart boy. Here ya go. Keep them well hidden, I think I would die if I heard you got, you know… taken out.” He makes a slicing motion across his neck and I shiver. Cole nods and Larry hands him the two coins and opens this thing that makes a ‘ding’ and starts pulling out green sheets of small rectangular paper. “Like I said, I hate to rip you off, but this is all I can reasonably give you and keep open the ‘buying’ portion of my shop for the day.”

Cole shrugs it off, “Not a problem, I ain’t a loan shark, I’m not gonna hound you for the rest.”  _ ‘Loan… shark?’ _

He smiles, “Good to hear that, be safe. You too missy, good luck on that job.” I nod and we leave.

Then my composure breaks and Cole looks at me, “Do people really kill for that?”

“You haven’t been in the city long, have you?” I shake my head, “I can tell, look let’s get moving, the sooner we get this done, the safer we will be.” I slowly nod and we began walking. Zig zagging across the narrow alleyways we came in… then it all happened so quickly.

Cole grunts as he is forced against a wall and I am soon with him, I feel a cold metal thing on the back of my head. I push my senses out and gulp,  _ ‘gods, a gun…’ _ I whimper and the man behind me hits me, not that it actually hurts, “Shut it, girl!”  _ ‘Hadronix… I don’t want to shift… please’ _ , It is a stupid thought, his… I mean, our lives are at risk and I am standing here worried about being called a freak.  _ ‘I can’t even push my Dragon out,  _ **_why_ ** _? Why is my Human suddenly so dominant?’ _ The very idea is starting to grate on me,  _ ‘Did Phoenix cast some curse on me?’ _

“We saw you sneaking that stuff, boy, hand it over and no complaints, no… accidents will happen.” The other says.

“Hey… surely we can work this out? Maybe ge…” He tries to speak.

“Yeah, we can, hand it over, or I’ll rip it off your corpse!”

“Alright alright, look,” He slowly moves, “I am going into my front pocket…” He explains as he moves, “I am reaching into my front pocket…”

Then one high pitched whistle that slowly lowers echoes in the air,  _ ‘Hadronix?!’ _ Sure enough I catch her scent.

“Oh, look, there’s a cute one.”  _ ‘Wait, there are four?’ _

“Aw, you think I’m cute. How adorable…” I catch another scent… it’s tainted and… Yumi _!? _ But Hadronix said... She does two short sharp whistles,  _ ‘That’s for Ruinad.’ _ I remember. I can barely sense them taking position near the ones holding Cole and I to the wall.

“Whistling isn’t going to do you any good here, missy.” The other two approach her and she doesn’t even flinch, even as their guns are pointing towards her.

“Whoa, Hadronix, don’t…” Cole starts.

“Shut it! And who said you were to stop getting the goods out?

The other man pushes me against the wall harder and I am able to turn my head to see Hadronix, with that cocky smirk on her face, she winks at me. “Listen here boys, I see you’re having the time of your life, but I am going to kindly ask you to release my friends,” Then her voice drops, “Or this will be the last time you will know life.”

The two men get closer, and place one gun on her head, the other on her chest, “Check this chick out, acting tough gets you killed, so how about you make this easy and just get down on your knees.” A tense few moments pass.

She utters three words, “I warned you.” Gods, the next few seconds are a blur, within a half a second the two on her drop unconscious, and the ones behind Cole and I don’t even get a chance to yell before they are gurgling up blood. She sucks in some air, “Oh dear, I’m afraid  **that** is non-refundable.”

“God, how did…” Cole starts but Hadronix shushes him.

“Yo-you found me… how?” Not that I cared for the reasoning.

“Yasei... I could tell from the moment we stepped into those sewers that you wouldn’t last a day, so…” She shows me a small clock-like device that has this dot pulsing near the middle, and a line sweeping around it, “I placed a tracking device on you.” She presses a button and I hear a small beep coming from under my shirt. She turns to Cole, “Now that her curiosity has been sated, you were going to ask me something?”

“These two just… died. And what happened to the other two?” He looks amazed and I don’t blame him, I never seen her work that efficiently.

She glances at me again, “How much do you trust him, I mean, you did have him your gold pieces, after all.”

He looks at me and I look at him, “He is helping me, a total stranger, by offering to teach me how to ride and bike, then be my reference for a job… I trust him completely.”

She smiles, “Alright Cole, I’ll show you, but…” She raises her hand, “What you see does  **not** leave your mouth. Promise?”

“You saved our lives, you bet. I promise.”

She raises an eyebrow at me, “As sweet as a bundle of roses.” Then she nods and Cole looks confused. “I’ll tell you later.”

She giggles, “Alright Cole, might want to hold that mouth closed because you are about to see some really weird shit.” Yumigami’s whistle sounded out, “The first one up is Yumigami, this is the one that was behind Yasei.” The familiar near-glowing purple furred wolf appears and Cole staggers back, “Remember what I said, I’m trusting you.”

He rubs his eyes, “That is… those muggers didn’t drug us, did they?”

“Nope.” Ruinad’s whistle came, “This is Ruinad, the one who saved you, Cole.” Like with Yumi, Ruinad appears out of nowhere.

“I have to be dreaming.” He reaches out and poke the Spirit Eagle. The astonished look on his face sends me into a fit of giggles. “Where do you even…”

“Another time, it will take a long time to go through everything.” The two pets fade from view, “But for now, I believe you had a bike to buy?” She rifles through the bodies, “Huh…” She says as she goes through one of the unconscious ones.

“What’s wrong?”

“This one is on one of the wanted posters. Crimes of murder, robberies, bank robberies, grand larceny… and on and on.” She pauses. “I suppose I’ll report this.”

“And the dead ones?” I ask.

“I got this planned out already, go on, I’ll catch up.”

Cole and I shrug, “This wasn’t what I was expecting when I woke up to a leaking roof this morning, and something that I sincerely hope doesn’t happen again, but I have to say today was interesting.” He says.

“So… bike shopping?”

“We got a few hours, yea.”

As we leave I barely make out Hadronix say, “Leaking roof, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels weird, shoving Yasei into a high-population modern city setting, but at least she has a device hiding her actual appearance, now all it needs to do is *not* stop working on her and she'll be able to blend in just fine.


	6. The 'Buzz' of the Century

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei slowly adjusts to life in the city and is in the middle of learning to ride a bike when Cole, her voluntary mentor, is abruptly called for work. Then fate turns around and deems her unworthy of having it easy, an explosion rocks part of the city with everything electrical short-circuiting, including Cover.
> 
> With her Dragon so quiet, she acts on her Human and gives in to curiosity and an urge to help out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.

“Balance yourself, Yasei, you keep putting too much on one side.” Cole and I are in the middle of an empty parking lot, after several falls he starts observing my  _ every _ mistake. “You go…” The tires screech and I am sent scraping across the concrete. “...ouch.”

“I’m fine.” I wave him off.

“After that? Should at least get the… scrape…” I face him as he talks, “is you face made of metal or something?”

_ ‘Gods, I want to tell him.’ _ “Uh… thick skin?” I sheepishly smile.

“I swear, you and Hadronix are the strangest people I have ever came across. I mean, invisible ‘beasts’, lightning fast movements, and now this? God, it’s like you two are a pair of superheroes.”

I flush, “Please, it’s nothing.”  _ ‘I can do so much more.’ _

He shakes his head, “I suppose you’re right, having thick skin isn’t going to get you that job, come on, give it another go.”

I giggle, “Yes sir!”

He is watching when I hear this strange ringing sound, “Ah, must be Trish, hold on a moment.” I turn to look, “Hey babe… yea… watching this kid try to ride a bike,”  _ ‘watching? Kid? My heart drops… he’s with someone, stop being jealous,’ _ “What’s up?... oh… right… well maybe we can reschedule for tomorrow? No, really, I understand you gotta work. Alright, cross our fingers and hope it doesn’t get interrupted. Love you too. Bye.”

_ ‘He’s taken, it’s alright if he wants her… besides I got Elise… in a completely different world… dimension, whatever…’ _

“Yasei? What’s wrong?”

_ ‘Gods, I’m crying in front of him.’ _ “...homesick.” I honestly reply.

“I’m assuming you don’t meant the sewers, right?” I nod, “Alright, well where did you come from?”

I shake my head, “C-can’t.”

He raises an eyebrow, “Can’t what? Return? Was it… uh… ‘removed’?”

“Too far away.”

He smiles but it is an empty one, “With the kind of… ‘coins’ you and you friend are rocking? Where is your home? On the other side of the universe?” He tries to joke.

“I can’t explain, Hadronix knows how to. I’m just… here.” I look away, “I’ve been causing nothing but problems for nearly a year now… and it all started with that  **stupid** …” I start crying. “Problems on problems, arguments, and… and…”

“Woah, Yasei.” He says, “Take it easy, I didn’t mean…”

“Not your fault.” I look at the bike, it’s purple, lavender, I remember smiling the second I saw it  _ ‘That one!’ _ It is a little too tall but… I am determined… was determined to learn.

“It…” The ringing starts up again, “Really? I’m supposed to be off work today. God, I wish we had more people sometimes, hold on.” He backs away again, “Yea? Always on standby. Yea. Got it. My bike is still there, right? Sweet. I’ll be there in ten.” He puts the small thing away. “Well, this is what happens when we so short on people, I got a single package to deliver. Meet here again tomorrow? Maybe a little earlier?”

I slowly nod, “Yeah… be safe.”

He smiles, “You, too.” He leaves and the parking lot feels a whole lot colder.

Several minutes pass in silence and I start to pedal again, “You really want to tell him, don’t you?” I squeal and fall off the back.

“Stop doing that… camouflage thing on me!” The concrete didn’t hurt, but the impact is still felt, “You waited for me to start pedaling, didn’t you?”

She raises an eyebrow, “Honestly, no.” She pauses, “I actually came to talk to Cole.”

“Oh… now look who has a crush on him!” I smirk.

“And look who just admitted she does in fact, have a crush on Cole.” She counters.

“Stop doing that, too. Ruining my fun.” I mock pout.

She giggles, “Anyway, you know where he went?”

“That… phone thing rang and he told me he has a package to deliver.”

“...huh…” She hesitates.

“What?”

She crosses her arms, “First Sons won’t let me speak names, but… boss-man has been calling the Post Office for over an hour asking for the same courier, I never heard him say a name.”

“Why Cole, specifically?”

She shrugs, “If it is Cole… might have been a completely different one for all I know.” I get up and tap on my new bike. Her stomach grumbles and she flushes. “I don’t suppose…”

My stomach answers before she finishes. “I suppose a bite to eat won’t hurt.” I grab my bike and roll it with me, “I… am kind of slow on learning this.”

“Nothing wrong with that, as long as you push you can do it.”

I smile, “Yep, you’re right… so, what’s on the menu.”

“I was…” A blinding flash of light radiates from behind us. “Ancestors, damn, balls, tits…” I see all of her gadgets discharging at the same time. “By all that is, shit…” A boom follows the light. We turn around and there is this huge ball of light. “That is the largest sphere of electricity I have ever seen.” She says.

“Are you sure it’s elec…?”

“Explains why everything I had short-circuited, well, at least Co…” She stops as another wave of electricity comes in and Hadronix looks like a Pandaren again, “And I jinxed it… good job Hadronix.” She closes her eyes and sighs, “I’ll just have to make  **two** more… again.”

“At least you look reasonably normal compared to me!” My and my red scales, red eyes, sharp teeth, pointed ears. A second boom and this one is deafening, “WHY WAS THAT ONE SO LOUD?”

“OUR NOISE-ISOLATING MICRO MACHINES SHORT-CIRCUITED AFTER THE FIRST SHOCKWAVE!” She is clutching her ears, too.

A fourth wave of electricity passes and the sphere implodes, I am sent soaring backwards and slam into a building… my scales and armor are probably the only thing keeping me alive. “Gods…” No cuts, not tears, “It hurts…” The impact is still felt. “Ha-Hadronix? You okay?” I look around and see her lying still, “No!” Then her chest rises and falls, “Thank the gods.”

“I’m busy, Spritsprocket, that report can wait another ten minutes…” She mumbles.

I giggle, “Spritsprocket? Hadronix, I’m Yasei, silly.”

She smacks her lips a few times, “Yasei? Ancestors… why does everything hurt so badly? I should che…” She pauses, “That large scale EMP fried everything, I got nothing.” She reaches into her pocket and sighs, “Okay, everything that isn’t electric is fine. So I still got my spare weapons… my gun is a goner, though. Oh well, I never really like them, anyway.”

“Gods, an entire section of that portion of the city… it’s rubble.” I comment. “There has to be some survivors, right? There has to be someone in need of help?”

She pauses for a moment and I can see the gears turning, “As my Gnomish trainer sometimes says, ‘It’s possible, but not probable’.” She grabs my hand as I start moving, “But I do know it is a  **dangerous** idea to run into a Ground Zero… er, the detonation site of a bomb.”

“So what? Leave the potential survivors there?”  _ ‘You two are like, superheroes.’ _ “We need to check it out!” I yank my arm some.

“Yasei, you know as well as I do that my grip isn’t strong enough to stop you.” I pause and nod, then she sighs, “And I’m not going to let you go in there alone… alright, lead on.” I smile.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“...ewww…” I gag as we pass a nearly destroyed bridge and enter the… Historic District, was it? The smell of burnt remains is covering the area.

“Ancestors, I can’t believe I was actually  that reliant on my gadgets…” Hadronix sighs, “Well, my performance is going to drop by at least 84%. Hope you are ready to make up for it.”

“Looking like this? I have no reason to hold back now…” We travel through the rubble… where there is a giant crater.

“As a heads-up Yasei, this specific area would be considered the Ground… Zero.” I have already took off towards the center before she finished, the heated rocks under my feet don’t even register as not even a nuisance. My feet have grown hardened enough before my scales. “You dummy! You are… ancestors…” She shouts, “Why are you…?

“Cole is in the center!” I shout back.  _ ‘And breathing.’ _ I quickly close the distance and effortlessly hop up to the slightly elevated piece of concrete he is on. “Cole? Cole!”

“Zeke?” He mumbles, but otherwise stays down.

I am about to make a normal remark, but then, “No way, I’m too hot to be him.” I flush with a smirk.

“That voice… Yasei?” He shifts.

“Yea, but…” I hesitate.

“But what? Look are you going to help me up?”

“Just… don’t attack m-me on s-sight, okay?”

“What? Why would I?” He raises an arm up.

“Because this is what I actually look like…” I start as I help him up, his eyes widen and staggers back, “...a freak.” I look away.

He is squinting his eyes,  _ ‘vision must be damaged.’ _ “Are your ears…”

“Yea.” I slowly turn to face him, “My ears are pointed, my eyes are red, my teeth are sharp, and I got red scales covering my body. Feel free to run.”

“Run is right… ancestors Yasei, do not do that… again.” Cole looks at her, “Oh, hi.”

Despite his obvious wounds and the pain he is in, he manages a smile, “Okay, now I am hallucinating… a talking bear?”

“You’re hallucinating? That has an exponentially higher probability than surviving a detonation at  **point blank** range! No wait… it is literally impossible to do that!”

“An… explosion?” He finally looks around and his eyes seem to clear up some, “Oh, God.” He nearly falls down.

“There are survivors down there!” I hear someone shouts from overhead… it is someone in, what was it, helicopter? “Can you hear me? Wave your hands if you can!” Hadronix and I easily waved, while Cole struggled to just bring his own up. “Excellent, now listen! We cannot land there, so make your way to bridge, medical personnel are stationed there… HEY!” The flying object turns towards the parking area, “What are you doing? Get across the bridge, the whole thing is coming down!” I barely catch a glimpse of a person, at least I think it was a person.

“Come on body, move…” Cole tells himself. I take a breath then pick him up with ease, “What the?” He looks at me, “Still got tricks up your sleeves?”

I look away, “Only if you don’t mind hanging around me…”

“Unless good looks are required to get me out of here, I don’t care.” My heart skips a beat,  _ ‘That sounds like something Keaton would have said…’ _

“The bridge, hm? Don’t worry, the damsel will save the knight in shining armor.” I jab and he chuckles. I start to easily carry him across the only unharmed pathway, just because I am immune to the heat doesn’t mean I can protect him from being burnt. Hadronix is keeping pace behind me,  _ ‘I’m going to assume Ruinad and Yumigami are near her, as well,’ _ as I enter the parking area, a surge of electricity strikes Cole and I am blasted back into a pillar. “...ow…” Now that actually hurt, not the impact, but the electricity. “Cole!” I look up to see him perfectly fine, even as electricity danced from him to the floor.

He looks as baffled as Hadronix and I, “What the hell…? He tests his legs and starts walking just fine. “I can walk fine now… so I’m not going to question that…” He still has a slight limp, but otherwise seems like he didn’t just come out of a ‘Ground Zero’. The Hunter and I follow him, even as the building starts collapsing around us. Cole jumps on a pipe, and even with his limp, gracefully balances himself and gets to the other end. Hadronix follow. I sigh and form my wings,  _ ‘No way I can pull that off.’ _ I take a running start and flaps my wings to get across, skidding to a halt. “...and you have wings?”

“...Yep.” I nod as I get up. He shrugs and continues moving… then another surge of electricity hits him, coming from the nearby light source, it keeps increasing, then…

The area in front of him explodes with a huge discharge, two cars explode and the concrete piece drops to form a ramp. “God…” He takes the path down regardless.

We follow him and around this destroyed bus is the bridge… Hadronix yanks me back behind the bus, or rather, I let her yank me, “What?”

“Go on Cole, we’ll be there!”

“What if he falls?”

“Think, Yasei… there are humans over there. What would you do if a walking, talking red panda and half-dragon came running across that bridge?!”

“We’d be with him, so it’s all good.” I try to shrug it off,  _ ‘She has a point… she always does.’ _

“Ancestors Yasei, stop! The people here shoot and kill over much less than this! There was a corpse in an alleyway because a man took a another guy’s hamburger _! _ A cheap piece of meat you can get for less than $5 and he murdered him.”

I stop and breath, “You’re right… you always are. We can’t approach anyone without Cover.” I look her in the eyes, “So what, then? You said everything you have is gone, that includes the tools to make Cover, right?”

“Everything electronic is fried not gone. I am going to need some extra time, but I can whip something up without my workshop.” She nods, “Just need some time.” She motions towards the ruins, “This is going to sound morbid, but that bomb made the perfect place to work, everyone else is dead, I can work in peace… at least until the looters pop up.” Despite that however, she seems completely unbothered to re-purpose the area.

I nod, “Okay, I’ll stay and if you need help, I’m here.”

She smiles, “Good, I’ll start right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the 'game' portion of this fic starts.
> 
> As always, I hope you all are enjoying this!
> 
> Have a good one!


	7. Embrace the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei and Hadronix end up becoming scavengers to a deserted Historic District, but it proves to lack too many resources to stay a viable source. Yasei ends up traveling through the Warren, which contains a larger supply of food, and just as important for Hadronix, scraps. It seems like things could be looking up once more.
> 
> Until the entire city suffers a blackout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous, each franchise belongs to their respective companies.

The first few days pass by without incident, Hadronix and I have holed up in a building slightly away from Ground Zero that is also mostly intact. Yumi and Ruinad tirelessly patrol the perimeter, I have never been so thankful for them.  _ ‘No required food? Water? Rest? A true blessing.’ _ Us however? Water? Easy. Hadronix has a method of filtering the sickening water and making it safe to drink. Sleep? We got the two pets on full alert and Hadronix has traps set up. Food? That is where the problem comes in.

“I only have so much shoved into these pockets, and I only have so much more I can actually cook into edible food. So we  **are** going have to scavenge… like a pair of looters.” The idea bothers her and she shakes her head, “But since we have no choice, I am throwing morality out the window if it means we make it out of this alive.” She sighs, “And just because my pets don’t need to eat doesn’t mean I can just not feed them.”

“But you said…”

She cuts me off, “I know, but feeding them is more than just for nourishment, it is a bonding experience, it lets them know everytime that I am willing to take care of them, keep them healthy… to trust me. If I start skimping out on it for too long, I’ll start to lose that bond. And if it goes on long enough? They might leave…” Tears form, “Yasei, I  **can’t** lose them. I was so happy to find them alive and I… I…” She puts her tools down and moves away from the desk. “Ancestors, look at me, I am a mess.”

“Is there anything they won’t eat?” I’m checking up with her just to make sure,  _ “Meat is meat.” _ Keaton’s voice echoes in my head.

She shakes her head, “Like I said, they don’t need the nourishment, so as long as it is something that can be digested, it’s fine.”

I pause and look away while this once cocky Hunter hangs her head, “If you truly mean dropping morality…” just because I’m okay with it doesn’t mean she will be, “I can get them… meat?” I look away.

“But wh…” If I could see her skin, it would probably be pale right now, “Oh…” She shivers, “Let’s… try and save that option.”

“How much food…?” I notion towards her seemingly endless pocket.

“I haven’t refilled them since… ancestors… right before Cheve? So if I went through it all now, a week? Maybe two?”

I hesitate… “I’ll take care of my own food… alright?”

She slowly nods, “If you can handle it… go ahead. Just… don’t go crazy or anything, okay?”

“I promise I won’t.” Hadronix lets out a sigh, wipes her eyes, and returns to the desk. Speaking of meat… my stomach grumbles,  _ ‘Great.’ _

She stops for a moment as I walk out, “I suppose, Yasei.” Her voice is still cracking, “If there is anything left…” She starts.

“I’ll save it for them.”

“...Thank you.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gods, it still smells horrid out here… and this place use to be so lively, packed with people… all dead. No, not even dead, what was the term Hadronix used? Obliterated? Completely wiped off the planet without a trace. I wonder if that is worse than just dying.

And Hadronix herself? Gods, she is nothing like she was merely a few days ago. She has things on her mind she isn’t telling me. Then there is me, I know I wouldn’t survive too long on my own… I mean, everyone else was doing most of the camping stuff back… home. I just took down a tent, maybe two, and occasionally killed an animal.

I walk the empty streets, going towards, what was it, The Warren? The Historic District is outright barren, even I cannot pick up a scent of a single living thing.  _ ‘And now I am going to kill a human to live… please be some low life with no sense of morals…’ _ Beruka’s view on her enemies suddenly pops it,  _ ‘No, not humans… targets, obstacles.’ _ I gulp, I hate thinking like that, but.  _ ‘Does it bother me?’ _ It doesn’t bother my Dragon, but my Human on the other hand.  _ ‘Gods, why won’t my Dragon come back? I wouldn’t be dealing with this guilt…’ _

I easily cross the bridge, my enhanced body and summoning my wings more than make up the difference. I gag when I enter,  _ ‘It smells even worse than the Historic District.’ _ But it isn’t due to the distinct scent of burnt buildings and destroyed life, it is due to all of this trash piled up… trash. Metal is part of the trash,  _ ‘Hadronix could use this stuff I bet.’ _ I make a mental note to bring this up to her when I return.

“Just give us the food, and you will be able to walk!” I hear a muffled voice yell.

I deftly make my way over the rubble and in an alley, there are two men dressed in… garbage bags? There is some various bits of metal on their body. And in front of them is another man in a tattered suit, on his knees. “I… maybe just some? I got a wife, man.”

“And we’re starving! Hand it over!” They have those guns on them… and I don’t have that noise device thing…  _ ‘He’s going to die.’ _

I take a breath, this is stupid… but I can’t just… “Hurry up! Trust us, we’re treating you  **real** nicely compared to others.” I shake my head,  _ ‘Targets, obstacles.’ _

“Leave him alone!” I find my voice and yell.

One of them turns and points his weapon at me, “Hold right there, missy. Don’t make this worse.”  _ ‘No yelling about my looks? Or can he not see me? It is rather dark.’ _

“How about you two leave or...”,  _ ‘Stop thinking like a Human. Dragon, focus.’ _

“Watch it, you don’t…”

“Or I use you and your friend’s body to feed the rats!” It isn’t a complete lie.

To my benefit, he actually jumps in place, and he is shaking, “J-Just turn around and leave.”

I grin, a feral smile, for some reason, it feels so satisfying to have him quaking in fear like that. “Hey, wanna see something neat?” I ask. He shakily aims at me and I form my maw in my right hand right in plain sight.

“D-Dude! She’s a freak! RUN!” He points and takes off, the other takes one good look and also flees.

“Thank God. Uh… you aren’t going to eat me, are you?” The man in the suit asks.

I let the maw fade, “No, I just heard them and decided to intervene.”

“Tr-truly? You are a shining beacon if you mean that.” He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a small assortment of cans, “Here, have some… for rescuing me.”

“But, your wife…?” I figured out the answer the second it came out of my mouth,  _ ‘It may be small, but there is a tinge of lying.’ _

He look away guiltily, “I... made that up, I hoped it would get them to back off. I was off at work when the blast happened, and when I returned… my house was… and they were… I’m alone now.” He looks at me again and pushes the cans further, “Please, take them. And please don’t stop what you are doing.”

“I look like a freak…”

He nods, “That might be true, but you are a freak with a good heart. I would have died.” I finally extend my hands and he gently places the cans on them, shaking while he did so,  _ ‘He says that, but he is still scared of me.’ _ “God bless you, stranger.” He quickly and quietly leaves.

_ ‘Beans, green beans, carrots…’ _ I go over the food. Then pause,  _ ‘I don’t have enough room in my pockets for more than a can or two… this is armor, not an actual coat or anything…’ _ I place one in each pocket, that leaves me with three. At least, putting one in each pocket was the plan, as my left pocket seems to be preoccupied. I place the cans down and reach inside,  _ ‘Did I forget I had…’ _ I pause as I feel a very distinct surface. It feels spiky, but not enough to prick and there is a sort of natural energy humming from it.

_ ‘Keaton’s old Beaststone…’ _ I grip the Stone, as if it will make my mate come back, maybe even pull out my Dragon again, but no.  _ ‘He’s gone.’ _ Gods, he is gone.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hadronix?” I quietly call out as I enter, as to not disturb here, “You awake?” I walk in and notice she is leaning back in the chair… mouth wide open and asleep. I giggle, “I guess you were working yourself to exhaustion.” I yawn, “Maybe I could use a nap as well…” I place the cans down near me and curl up on a spot on the floor. “Sleep well.” I close my eyes and fall asleep.

I wake up some time later, it’s night time. “Hey… uh, you are awake, right?” Hadronix asks, “I… can’t really see that well in the dark.”

I stretch, “Yea I am.” Hold on, “But you did just fine in my home.”

I can make out a few features, but otherwise she is a standing shadow, she shakes her head, “I had dozens of little quality of life things, a sort of Night-Vision goggles being one of them… all of it fried. Like I said, my usefulness dropped by at least 84%.” She pauses, “I can barely see in the dark, my knockback amplifier on my bow doesn’t work, so my shots will lack serious power, among many other things.”

“oh…”

“I noticed some metal objects near you, cans?”

I nod even though she couldn’t see it, “I saved someone from a pair of garbage bag-clothed thieves, he insisted I take those cans.”

A small smile, “That’s good… saving him, I mean. I can go another day without thinking… yea.”  _ ‘Eating human, you mean.’ _

“Oh!” I just remember and she tilts her head at me, “The Warren is packed with trash, like bits of metal, and all of these other things that I think you can use!”

“Is that so?” She crosses her arms, “We might have to pay them a visit, since I  **don’t** have enough raw materials left. We’ll leave tomorrow morning. Before the sun rises.”

I nod again, “Alright.” I lie back down, “Good night, Hadronix.”

“Good night, Yasei.” She gets on the floor and fall asleep, I soon follow.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We spend the next week carefully going into the Warren, taking ‘trash’ and bringing it back. Even with Hadronix’s pockets, though, the amount of time we have before patrols keep us from just taking everything at once. Soon enough, we have a sizeable pile of things in the building, enough to stuff one of the floors with stuff… we move up one floor to compensate. Right now, Hadronix is happily humming, feeling right at home with the various pieces of scrap as she works in her makeshift shop. “What about that position you literally just got about a week ago?”

She doesn’t stop when she replies, “Destroyed, they were based here. Well, here as in the Historic District.” She shakes her head, “A shame, too. They had some pretty sweet stuff in there. Like… it makes seems the rest of Empire City look to be in the Stone Age.” She smiles, “I could have spent days picking through each of the employees there, just learning.” She picks up the thing she is working on and smirks.

“That doesn’t look like Cover.” I comment, it looks like a pair of goggles.

She nods, “Correct. After taking into consideration how looters just run when seeing us, I put Cover lower on the priority list. Instead, I crafted me a sort of cheap pair of Night Vision goggles. Now I can keep working if I can’t sleep at night.” She frowns, “Which is quite often, sadly.”

“What’s next, then?”

She stops, places the goggles down, and thinks, “I should probably look your armor over, see if I can test it to get its stopping power. Then see if I can make it strong enough to withstand bullets.” She pauses, “Speaking of, I need to make another Noise-Isolating Micro Machines for you.”

“What about you?”

She shrugs, “I’m used to guns, as long as there isn’t anymore large detonations like the Blast, I’ll be fine.” She gently moves the goggles, gets up, and starts sorting through the junk again, “And if we can keep getting scraps like this, I can whip up plenty of stuff in no time!” She pulls out several small sheets of metal and nods to herself. “We’ll leave again in the morning, as usual. We’ll be searching more for food than scraps this time.”

I smile, “You got it.”  _ ‘Gods, this woman is my lifeline here… I wonder how Cole is doing?’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another day, another search, we are scouring through the Warren again. Hadronix has already shoved several cans in her pockets, and Yumi knows how to bring them to her without puncturing them with his teeth. Ruinad is here purely for scouting. “Not a bad collection so far.” She comments.

“I ag…” I pause as I barely catch the ground shake, “Shh!” She doesn’t question me and we hole up in a corner. This huge walking piece of garbage passes by, it is in the form of a human, I guess. It has arms and legs made of garbage. It turns and looks around…  _ ‘There is a human in the center of it!’ _

“Tch… could’ve sworn I heard something.” The garbage man walks off. I let go of a breath I didn’t realize I am holding.

“Gods…” I breath.

“Yea… another threat to look out for.” She nods, “We should…” Every single light source suddenly turns off, “...head back.” She reaches into her pocket and pulls out the goggles, “Not as effective as I would like, but at least I can see a bit.”

The things have a small green glow to them. “Um, you do know those things are causing some light, right?”

“Ancestors… how did I overlook that?” She moves to take them off, “Alright then, be my eyes, I’m not compromising our position by shining a green light everywhere.” She places them back in her pocket. She extends her hand… in the wrong direction. I reach and grab her hand, “Oh… wrong way.”  _ ‘Gods, she really is blind without them.’ _ I frown. “Just lead, Yumi will let me know about rubble and anything else that can trip me up.”

_ ‘Then why can’t _   _s_ _ he also guide you?’ _ I don’t bother asking, her pets can’t do everything, after all. “Alright, back to the Historic District.” She nods and we start moving. We quietly make our way across the darkened Warren, the sun is being blocked by  _ huge _ pillars of smoke. This place is almost as dark as Nohr at nighttime. The ground shakes again,  _ ‘Shit!’ _ I quickly look around and drag Hadronix to a pile of rubble, I guide her behind it, she stays silent the entire way. Another larger garbage man passes by, this one doesn’t stop. I wait several heartbeats before getting up and resume moving.  _ ‘Gods, I have never been so terrified in my life… Wyrmslayers excluded.’ _

“Breathe, Yasei.” She says, “You have to stay calm, for both of us.” I just notice she is shaking. “Ancestors know I can’t.” Then she adds in a smaller voice, “I have never been so defenseless in my life, m-my pets can o-only do s-so much!” She whimpers and it breaks my heart.

“Shh… we’ll make it.” I motion towards the bridge out of habit, “Bridge isn’t too far.”

“...I trust you, Yasei.”

We resume moving and make it to the bridge without incident… until we reach the halfway mark, the entire bridge starts shaking, “There they are!” I hear a single man shout, I turn around and see this… monstrous garbage man coming towards us. This one reaches up to nearly above the top of the railing on the bridge, “The two that have been pilfering  **my** resources.” He gets the garbage to stomp the ground, “Listen here, I don’t know what that bastard Kessler is doing with all of that stuff, but your thieving ends now.”  _ ‘Kessler?’ _

“Kessler?” Hadronix asks, “He died in the blast along with the rest of the First Sons.”

He laughs, “Nice try! But they relocated mere hours before… say.” He pauses and his garbage head comes closer, “Aren’t you that new one? You got hired merely a day before this.”

“We never been here before.” I attempt to lie.

“Bah, your friend’s tech is pretty nifty, but I know a cloaking device when I see one.”  _ ‘Gods…’ _

“What’s it to you?” She attempts to be brave, but I can feel her trembling. She is whimpering slightly.

“You had some pretty neat ideas.” He starts, “How about this, you can have access to all of my resources, if you drop your allegiance with Kessler and work for me. I’ll even spare your friend here.”

Hadronix turns towards me, shaking almost violently, “Y-Yasei…?”

“We can make it…” I don’t sound too reassuring. I mean, there is a man commanding a suit of garbage who is as large as our residence.

“I’m sorry.” She says, “But I need to make sure you live…” I open my mouth to protest and she forms a sad smile, “You are my liege… after all.” She lets go of my hand.

“NO! Hadronix!” She stumbles through the dark, I attempt to move but the bridge quakes, sending a grim reminder that there is a force that could probably flatten me. “Please, sir! I need her! I can’t…” She trips again and my heart falls with her.

“Nope, you have nothing to offer me, lady. This ‘Hadronix’ though? She’s got brains.” He lowers one of his garbage hands in front of her, “Hop on, first thing I need to get you is a proper pair of Night-Vision goggles.” He pauses, “And don’t give your pets any funny ideas.”

She chokes on a sob, “They won’t do a thing without me commanding them… but they will be fed.”

“Show me results…” The man starts.

Hadronix suddenly tenses and I can sense the fear just leave her, “No. They  **will** be fed.” The man snarls, “I don’t care how, but they  **will** be fed.” She stands her ground, “And if they even get close to leaving me, then I will stop working.”

“Not a smart move, girl.”

“I refuse to lose anymore.” A tense silence follows.

“Very well, I assure you that your pets will be fed.” Satisfied, Hadronix stumbles through the dark and gets on his hand… leaving me alone.


	8. Towards the Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei, now alone, is now having to deal with the fact that her only guide has been taken from her. Eventually pulling herself out of the initial grief, she gets a glimpse of lights over in the Neon. Going towards the literal beacon, she arrives to a rather unwanted welcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.

I am curling up in the building we shared. I don’t even bother budging when that trash man’s forces swoop in and take all of their stuff back. I am just left with whatever food is leftover.  _ ‘Gone, just like.’ _ This is worse than being locked up in Shirasagi, at least I had something then. But no, I am alone in the dark. Every single light is still gone, and the sun can barely share its light through the rising pillars of smoke. I sigh and get up off the ground, then start looking out the windowless opening on the floor that once held the workshop… before the thugs stole that, too. I am staring out to the Warren, watching as this skyscraper of garbage is being formed, Hadronix is probably working on that. She has all the resources she ever wants… but she had to abandon me to get it.

_ ‘She did it to save me… from what? Being reduced to a paste on the bridge?’ _ I can’t get angry at her.  _ “I would never make a decision if I knew that you have a 0% chance of living.” _ She told me that one day while she was working in this workshop. She trusts me enough to live long enough for her to think of something.  _ ‘She trusts me, and I trust her.’ _ The thought whirrs me into action, I have to do something!

I am about to dash out when a beacon of literal light shows, the Neon district regains some light! My enhanced eyesight shows me specks of people floating across the street. Then I hesitate,  _ ‘I’m a freak, they’ll attack me on sight.’ _ I shake my head, no, I have to. I grab what cans of food remain, eat just enough to fend off hunger and dash off.  _ ‘I can do this.’ _

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite my determination, I find myself hesitating as I come across the destroyed bridge,  _ ‘Gods…’ _ There are these large holes and scorch march lining the bridge… but I can still cross it. I look across and the lights greet me. I take a breath and cross it.

“God! What is that!?”

“Freak!”   


“Terrorist!” They point, they grab rocks and throw them… I just let them.

“Back off! That woman saved my life!” It is the guy in the suit. My heart leaps. “She went out of her way and scared off two of those garbage thugs in the Warren.” He continues, “I would have died, and never have been able to deliver that food if it wasn’t for her!”

The rocks stop, but they stay put,  _ ‘they are still terrified.’ _

Then another man drops from the sky and lands without a single injury, “Well, I was going to say stop, but…” He turns and my heart skips a beat, “...Yasei?”

“...Cole?” He smiles. “You’re alive.” The crowd disperses.

“You know each other?” The man in the suit asks.

Cole crosses his arms and nods, “...yeah, we do.”

He nods, then leaves. “I’ll be sure to spread the word about you… Yasei?” I nod in response, “Alright Yasei, I’ll let as many people that will listen know about you.” He smiles.

I turn my gaze back to Cole, “I thought…” Then I pause, “How did you do that? You landed without a hitch.”

“Well, Yasei.” He pauses, “Since the blast, I have a few new tricks up my sleeve.” He snaps his fingers and a light blue electricity jumps across his arms, “Very helpful tricks.” I slowly nod, “How about this, I take you back to the rooftop Zeke and I share, get you a cold beer and catch up some and…” He looks past me, “Where is…”

I look away and tears form, “...Gone… not dead, just gone…”

“We’ll save her.” I quickly turn to face him, “I’ve been pretty busy myself, and if your friend was anything to go by from that day she saved us. We can bring Empire City back to working order in no time.”

I slowly nod, “Lead on.”  _ ‘Gods know I can’t operate alone, at least not without causing a lot of trouble.’ _ He starts walking and I follow, he chooses to weave across the alleyways in a sort of round-about way. “Why the long way?”

“Well, uh,” He starts, “You know how those people threw rocks at you?” I nod, “Well, I’ve been blamed for the Blast in the Historic District, take that, and add the fact I can shoot lightning out of my ass, and nearly everyone fears me. I’ve been working overtime to prove I’m the good guy in all of this.”

I just noticed the bags under his eyes. “Oh…” We continue in silence.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Well, here we are, uh, up there actually.” He easily grabs onto a window ledge and starts climbing like it is completely natural, then looks down, “Uh, there are stairs if you go through that door.”

I smirk, I can make it, “Might as well show off some more of my freak side, right?” He turns and hangs off the side.

“Alright, whaddya got to show me?” I back up a few feet, run, then summon my wings and  _ leap… _ not enough to clear the top, but enough to be just a few inches from the top. He resumes climbing as I dangle for a bit. “Can’t climb though?”

“The ledges are smaller than I thought,” I admit, then find my way to grab a ledge the best I can,  _ ‘Really small ledges…’ _ “I got it now.”

He finishes climbing, “Yo, Zeke! Get three beers out of the cooler. We got a visitor.”

“You bet, brother!” I hear Zeke call out, “Is it Trish? Been a while since she came up here.”

“Nah, remember when I told you I met two hot women in the sewers? Well, this is one. She was uh… changed by the Blast.” He smoothly lies.

“Look man, I tol… Holy shit!” I look away as he gapes in horror.  _ ‘I knew it.’ _ he drops a bottle, but Cole catches it.

Tears form and I move to leave,  _ ‘This was a mistake.  _ **_I_ ** _ am a mistake.’ _ “What the hell, man? Yasei, hold up.” I stop. “You just surprised him,  **right** Zeke?”

“Y-yeah, sorry for that.” He rubs the back of his head with his free hand, “Suppose I got no reason to be worried, I mean, I already accepted the fact Cole turned into a lightning rod in the matter of a few days.”

“I-If you say s-so…” I slowly inch closer,  _ ‘He is still scared.’ _ Cole hands me the bottle he is holding and grabs one of them off of Zeke.

“Make yourself at home.” He offers, not that there is much to make myself home with. I glance at the bottle  _ ‘I didn’t like the beer Hadronix shared, maybe this one is better?’ _ Cole flops on the only couch, and Zeke sits on the other side of it… I choose to sit on the rooftop, several feet away from Zeke, slightly closer to Cole. I pop off the top with ease and they give me a strange look, Zeke is holding a small metal thing.

“Well, I can see you don’t need a bottle opener.” Cole says as Zeke pops the top off with the bottle opener. He passes it to Cole who does the same. They clink their bottles and take a sip.

I sniff mine,  _ ‘Well, at least it smells better.’ _ I take a sip and cough,  _ ‘burns more.’ _

“First one?” Cole asks.

I shake my head and cough again, “Second, didn’t finish the first one, it tasted pretty bad.” I pause, “I’ve had wine before, though.”  _ ‘Two bottles and I’ll forgive you.’ _ Keaton’s words echo through my head once more. I take another sip, not as bad this time.

Zeke laughs, “I can tell… beer,” He raises his bottle, “Is not meant to be sipped like that overpriced wine.” He downs a huge gulp.  _ ‘Well, I never even had beer before Hadronix… gods, she’s  _ **_gone_ ** _.’ _ “Jeez, I didn’t mean to insult you.” Then his voice drops, “Cole, what the hell did I do?”

_ ‘That garbage bastard has her…’ _ The bottle shatters in my grip, the shards fall right off a patch of scales that formed on the underside.  _ ‘She traded her freedom for my life…’ _

“Woah, Yasei. Breathe girl!” Cole is by me. He noticeably does not wipe my tears away, instead he is outright avoiding them, and wherever they streak down from.

“She’s gone…” I whimper, “She’s gone,” I repeat, “She’s gone… they’re probably  **all** dead and… Gods… Why?”

“Uh.. Cole?” Zeke asks.

“She’s been through some shit man, cut her some slack.” He lifts my head, still avoiding the tears, “Hey, shh…”

I breathe, “But… Elise, Camilla…” My fists tighten and I growl, Cole tenses but otherwise stays put… Zeke though, he is behind the couch now. “...Phoenix…” The Tactician who kicked me off the cliff...

“Yasei!” Cole shouts and I stop trembling. “God, woman. Get a hold of yourself!” I stare at him, he cares, “We’ll do something about it, alright? We’ll get your friend and work from there.”

_ ‘...but they are in a completely different dimension… with a woman who can literally talk and kill people.’ _ I remember the surge of power I felt when she imbued my dragon form… and the pain when she stripped it away just as quickly. I look at my right hand, that purple glow I saw once never reappeared.  _ ‘Still have red scales, though.’ _

“Hey, get some sleep, alright?” He offers and I nod. “Yo Zeke, let her use the couch for a bit…”

“I’ll be fine, I’ve slept on concrete for over a week, I’m used to it.” He raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t protest.

Then Cole’s, phone, was it? Well, it starts ringing. “I’ll be back.” I notice he doesn’t actually grab it like normal, “Yo, Cole here.” He drops off the building.

I wipe my tears away, “Sorry for scaring you…”

Zeke pops up and moves back onto the couch, “N-not a problem. Everyone here has been through hell and back since the quarantine…”

“Quarantine?” I have trouble pronouncing it.

“Uh, not to be rude, but did that blast like,” He points to his head, “You know, screw with your thinking or something?”

“Yeah… I forgot a lot of things…”

“Ah…” He pauses, “Then how about I bring you up to date, so I can fill any missing gaps since the Blast.” I nod. “Well, after the Blast happened…”


	9. Electric Man and Dragon Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Zeke, Yasei now understands most of what's going on since 'The Blast', though it was information that she could have been better off not knowing. The stranded Draconic Nohrian Princess also gets her first chance to actually do something, with Cole leading the way.
> 
> And for the first time since arriving on this planet, her Dragon starts voicing itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> Behold! There is a battle scene!

I slept for as long as I could but didn’t get much, considering a lot of bad memories have been recalled today. I sort of regret wanting to learn everything that happened recently.  _ ‘Plague? Thefts? Murder?’ _ Why? The Dragon in me growls,  _ ‘And why am I suddenly caring so much? I wasn’t like this after Hoshido…’ _ Then it hits me,  _ ‘I haven’t been this in-tune with my human side for a while.’ _ I pause in my thoughts,  _ ‘Wait, my Dragon just…’ _ It was a growl, but it is better than just staying silent all the time.

“Ah, hell… I’m beat.” I hear Cole return and I wake up, before throwing himself in a chair on the opposite side from Zeke. “God damn.”

“...Tough day?” I ask without moving.

“Huh?” He looks at me, “Oh, you’re awake, bad dreams?”

“...Yeah. Where were you?”

He sighs, “Got this government organization gripping me by the balls, ‘Cole, do this. Cole, do that.’”

“Oh…” I slowly sit up.

“But…” He starts, “But, they will use their power to clear my name when I finish, and considering I am labeled a National Terrorist, I’d say it will be worth it.”

Silence, “...When can I start helping out?”

“Hm? Oh, I thought you might wanted a bit more time to, you know… grieve?”

_ ‘Grieving isn’t going to silence the dragon wanting to break free.’ _ “I need to get out and do something… it’s part of my… thing.”  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _ I startle as my Dragon starts voicing its opinion once more.

He nods, “Alright, I’ll bring you along tomorrow. I’ll be sure ‘Moya’ knows so she doesn’t throw a fit.” He sinks back into the chair, “But first, sleep.”

“...Yeah.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yeah… uh-huh. Listen… no, just let me… yeah… she has powers… um? She can fly and fight really well. Just give her a shot. I’ll be responsible… yeah yeah. Sweet, thanks. Yeah I got the coordinates…  **I’ll** get it done. Bye.” I hear Cole speak, “Up and at em, Yasei. We got a job.”

I smile, get up, and stretch. “Awesome… what’s the task.”

He rubs the back of his head, “If you were thinking combat, you’re thinking wrong.” He looks away, “At least, the objective isn’t taking out Reapers, we might encounter some but…”

“So, what are we doing?”

He hands me a plastic case, “Well, I kinda told her you could fly… so she wants us to get Dead Drops.” I narrow my eyes as I grab the case, “I know, it sucks, but…”

“I  **glide** , I don’t fly.” He makes a small ‘oh’. “I’ll obviously do it, anyway. What… how do you…?” I turn the case around.

“Uh, you don’t, flip it open.” He smirks, “How do you not know what a phone is?”

I gently open it up, “Cole, since we’re working together, I might as well tell you everything about where I came from and what we don’t have.”

He nods, “Alright. Fair enough.” I close the phone and place it in my pocket, opposite of the one with Keaton’s old Beaststone.  _ ‘Huh, I still have that smoke pellet in that pocket…’ _

“So... “ He starts as he leaps off, I bring out my wings so I can slow my fall, “Do you guys have electricity?”

“Mages can cast electric spells.” I reply. “Kind of like you.”

“Mages? Magicians?”

I giggle, “No, Mages. Magic users.”

“...explains why you are so confused, sounds like you live in the medieval times.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hate jumping across rooftops. The height bothers me, but I chalk that up to my drop into the Bottomless Canyon.  _ ‘The ground is right there, Yasei. And I can slow my fall. I  _ **_won’t_ ** _ die.’ _ Cole showed me how to use the phone, without touching it, and I am watching this radar thing, kind of like what Hadronix used to find me.  _ ‘Don’t cry, I got work to do.’ _ “Why don’t you actually touch your phone? Doesn’t that make it hard to use?” I ask as I find one of these ‘dead drops’.

“These powers are great and all,” He starts, “But I short circuit nearly everything I touch. It hurts me to jump into a pool of water. Cars  **explode** if I sit in one.”

“So that’s why you didn’t wipe my tears away…” I whisper.

“What was that?”

“No-nothing!” I flush red.

He chuckles, “Yeah, sure. You got that one?”

“Ye-yep!” Another jumbled mess of gods know what. Is this guy even human?

“Yea, uh-huh.” Great, that woman is calling him again. “One more? Sure thing.” He looks at me, “One more and we’ll be good to go.” He easily jumps on a cable connecting two buildings. I take a breath and leap, thankfully from continued use, I find myself going much further… even so far as to go higher than where I started… maybe I can fly? “Alright, show off.” He smirks as he catches up, “Don’t you leave me behind.”

I flush a brighter red, “Whoops…”

“God, I wish my powers included flying… gliding, whatever.” He shakes his head, “Let’s go, Dragon Girl.”

I pause, “Huh?”

He chuckles, “Well, they are calling me ‘The Electric Man’ down there, I might as well slap you with an embarrassing title so you can join me.”

“Makes sense.” I resume following him.

A few rooftops later and we stop, “Reapers…” He whispers as he pulls me behind a raised wall on top of the roof. “And they are right at the spot.”

“We can get them.”  _ “I need to run tests to see if your armor has enough stopping power for bullets.” _ “Oh… right.” How could I have forgotten that?

“What?”

“Cole… I don’t know if my armor stops bullets…” I pause, “And what about you?”

He lifts a finger, “These powers stop most of the force,” another finger, “I have fast healing.” He glances at me while I am shaking slightly,  _ ‘I had my chance and those things…’ _ “Give it a chance. I  **won’t** let you die.”

Gods, he is so confident. “Alright, I trust you.”

“Sweet. Look, I’ll start it off, you uh… swoop in afterwards.” He snaps his fingers and electricity dances around his hand… some of it hits me and leaves me warm. “Let’s make some magic happen, Dragon Girl.”

He runs, I wait four heartbeats, then follow. “It’s the Electric Man!” I hear one of them yell. “Get the freak!” Cole nimbly moves out of the way from some of the bullets, while others seemingly bounce off… blood starts dripping but he seems unaffected. I run the other direction to form a pincer-like assault. I bound across the relatively small gap, form my lance, and run a Reaper through,  _ ‘Gods, they aren’t even human… they can’t be.’ _ Sure, there is blood, but it is  **black** and more like ichor. It smells horrid, too. I turn to charge the next, as one of them is launched backwards, a few bolts of electricity hits him mid-air, and he collapses when he lands. I retract my lance and go towards the next, he’s hunched over and his gun looks… thicker than the others.

I form a maw, he doesn’t look afraid,  _ ‘or any emotion really’ _ , like the garbage men are. He does this strange pumping motion and instinct tells me to change direction. I summon my wings and abruptly strafe right… just as a loud  **bang** echoes the area and at least six of those bullets exit at once. He turns and starts that pump again. I don’t let him as I shoot a sphere,  _ ‘red, just like my scales now’ _ , he is too busy fiddling with his gun and the sphere slams him, causing him to drop dead. I barely register more bolts of lightning striking the last one.

“Not bad.” He has five taken out… against my measly two. “You uh, alright?”

“Shaken, but fine.” I watch in amazement as his wounds just start closing right before my eyes, like a healing spell is washing over him. “They… aren’t human, are they?” Black ichor, no emotions.

“Honestly? I don’t know, but they just attack, steal, and kill. So that is enough reason for me… us to take them out.”

“...I only killed two.”

“You’ll be better, besides.” He kicks the one that had the thicker gun, “Those bastards are annoying. That is a shotgun. Pray you aren’t close when they fire one of those.”

“...okay.” I nod, “Tell me about the rest, too, on the way back.”

“Guns? Well, I’m no expert, but I’ll share what I know.” I nod and move towards the uh, satellite? Dish and get the third one.  _ ‘Some garbling noise, just like the rest.’ _ I place the phone back into my pocket. “Yea? Done. Okay. We’re ready. Play it, then.”

My phone starts talking and I nearly jump out of my armor. Cole’s phone is doing the same. I pull out my phone again,  _ ‘this place is so weird.’ _ “...First Sons…” I immediately stop paying attention the second I heard those two words. The place Hadronix got to work for a single day, the one that got her captured… I place the phone back, I don’t want to hear the rest. I let that man mumble in my pocket.

The talking soon stops, “You sure?” He asks Moya, has to be Moya anyway, she has Cole on such a tight leash, “Sweet. We’ll keep an eye out… of course you are watching. Well, what about…? Good, she won’t disappoint. I  **know** . Got it. That’s it? Ah. Will do. Bye.”

I have a small smile before he turns to face me, “It is so weird hearing you talk that thing, makes it sound like you are talking to yourself.”

He chuckles, a sound I am quickly warming up to, “Up for one more fight? Reapers have overrun a street hospital.”

Hospital, like the medical tents back home, “You bet.”

He nods, “Good, it’s not far. I would say race you, but you still don’t know this place too well, do you?”

“I’m learning, there are just too many of these small alleyways and  _ street _ names.”

“It’s all good, just follow me.” He leaps to the next rooftop and I follow.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, thank God. It’s the Electric Man.” A man in a puke-green vest with an eye-patch says, “...and?”

“Dragon Girl.” He snickers. “How many?”

“A dozen? They just came and started…” He shakes his head, “They killed my patients. They couldn’t even walk and they killed them. You’re gonna make em pay, right?”

_ ‘Honorless bastards!’ _ My Dragonstone glows with my anger. “Oh, I will.” I respond, pupils narrowing.

“Don’t just run off.” Cole says as he gently moves the doctor to the side, “Rushing in will just… get…” A light envelopes me and I shift, “... **nice** .”

I roar a challenge and one-by-one the Reapers pop up to see a very livid dragon staring them down. I prepare a stream of water and drop two right there.  _ ‘Death, ravage.’ _ I stomp the ground and charge, several bolts of electricity fly past me. Some Reapers go back around the corner… and one of the poor guys popped out of an alleyway just to get trampled by me. Another one is shocked to death. Another loud bang and… nothing, the bullets bounce off. Yet the Reaper isn’t deterred, he gets one more shot out before I run him through with my horns. I turn the corner to see three left… no, four. One pops out from the corner and hits me dead-on with a shotgun. I grunt, it hurts, but it isn’t that bad. I grab him with one of my front hands as he pumps it, and throw him on another. Cole drops from the building next to them, wreathed in lightning, and explodes on impact, sending the others flying, dead. I relax myself and shift back… suddenly aware of the pain in my left leg.

“Oh, shit. Doc!”

“It’s just a little pain.” I shake my head, “See?” I move it around… then fall. “Godsdamnit.”

“Don’t worry Dragon Girl, I got you.” The doctor comes in, “Mind getting her on a cot for me?” Cole picks me up with ease and places me on a cot. “This will be done in a bit. Uh… I don’t have any anesthetics though.”

He picks up a… pair of tweezers? “Anes… Gods!” I try to keep my leg still as he pulls out a bullet. Cole walks up and holds my legs down, the doctor nods his thanks.

“We cleared it out.” He tells me.

_ “It hurts less if you don’t think about it.” _ “Just keep talking, anything.” I nod.

“How about this time Zeke got shitfaced and pissed on a cop?” He smirks, even as I suck in a breath from another pluck.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, Dragon Girl.” The doctor says, “I recommend bed rest, but… if you two  _ really _ need to keep moving, then just keep the pressure off of that leg. Thank you two so much.”

“Not a problem, Doc.” Cole helps me get up, it isn’t as bad as I thought, but I still wince in pain. Just rely more on my right, and I’ll be fine.

“Happy to help.” I add. He nods and starts attending to the already long line forming near his outdoor clinic.  _ ‘All of these desperate people… and this place doesn’t have healing staves.’ _

The sun is dropping, at least it is actually shining here. I look over to the Warren, since I cannot see the Historic District from here. That tower of garbage has grown.  _ ‘We’ll save you, Hadronix.’ _

“Hey, I asked if you are hungry?” Cole touches my shoulder.

“Huh? Oh, yeah.” He leads me on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will be one of the few times she will be accompanying Cole on a mission, I think I have about four planned out, the rest will be on her with some canon ones and some won't.


	10. Three Good Deeds a Day...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yasei has her first day where she gets to do her own tasks, while Cole heads into the sewers to restore power. She takes that time to make a better name for herself, unfortunately however, it's a whole lot harder than it first seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> Another three days, another chapter. Enjoy!

He takes me to a small, but ruined, diner. The food doesn’t smell much better than Nohr’s slosh… but I suppose it is either eat this or starve.  _ “It is a bad idea to let your dragon go hungry…” _ Keaton’s voice echoes. “Trish! There you are!” Yet the woman does not return the same enthusiasm. “Aw, come on.”

Now she has a small smile, “Sorry Cole, it’s just…” Tears, “Still hard.”

He takes a seat and I stay a few feet away, then he claps his hands, “Well, you’ll be glad to know that we cleared out some Reapers and a clinic is up and running.”

“That’s wonder… ‘we’?” She looks at me, “Who’s her?”

_ ‘A bit nervous mixed in with jealousy… this was a bad idea.’ _ “She’s my sidekick.”  _ ‘ _ **_Really_ ** _?’ _ “She’ll be called ‘Dragon Girl’ by the public. Her name is Yasei.”

“...Hi, T-Trish.” I look away.

She smiles but gives me a critical look. “I’m sure Cole is exaggerating when he says sidekick, right? You look like you can handle yourself.”

“I took a few Reapers down…” I squeak out. Cole pats the seat on the other side.  _ ‘Alone.’ _ I nod and sit on that side by myself. “You r-run the hospital? Cole speaks highly of you.”  _ ‘Stay on her good side.’ _

I am rewarded with a proud smile, “I didn’t run as in own it. But I am… was, one of the doctors there.”

“Was?” I pause, “Wait, no… don’t answer that if you don’t want to.”

“Yeah… it’s a bit too early to share that.” A server comes by and sits three bowls down,  _ ‘must be the only thing they are serving if he didn’t bother asking.’ _ As well as three dirty glasses of water. Jakob would throw a tantrum if he saw this… Camilla would probably just cleave the man in half for even considering serving this. “You got some luggage on you, too?”

_ ‘Gods, I am crying again…’ _ “Yeah.” I taste it… Nohr’s slosh is an exquisite meal compared to this.

She reaches to grab my hand, but stops when she sees the scales, “Just… keep helping the people out, it’ll work out in the end.” She pulls her hand back. “So… Dragon Girl? I’m guessing it is because of the scales?”

“I also have sharp teeth, my pupils can narrow, I can form wings, horns, I got a forked tongue…” I add.

“And she can  **actually** turn into a dragon!” Cole looks like young excitable boy right now. It’s cute.

“Uh, sure… Dragons are mythical.” She rolls her eyes, “And the scales? Obviously from the Blast.”

“And the rest?” He asks.

“If it wasn’t from the Blast? You could actually have your teeth grinded into fangs like that and she could have had her tongue cut like so. The pupils, wings, and horns? The Blast. But no way can she actually transform.”

“Sure, and I can’t jump off the tallest building and turn out just fine.” He smirks.

“...Cole, I know you can survive that, but it doesn’t make me worry any less.” Her mood drops, “I know we haven’t been on the best of terms since… but you and Zeke are really the only family left.”

“Would it be too much to ask for Yasei to be a part of it?” He pushes. “She means well.”

Another critical look at me, I shrink back, “Do a few more good deeds like today, and I’ll… I will.” I smile in response.

The rest of the meal continues in silence. I notice that Cole flinches everytime he drinks the water. And he near the end, he notices me staring at it, “I uh, it ‘tingles’ going down. I still need to drink, but it sort of shocks me on the way down.” And with that slosh down, we get up, “I’ll uh… see you some other day?”

Trish smiles, “Yeah… love you.”

“You too.”

“I’ll see you later, too, Yasei.”

“Sure thing, Trish.” We leave the cruddy diner.  _ ‘I am not going to be able to keep the dragon silent much longer with this food… gods, I am going to have to  _ **_hunt_ ** _ for a human…’  _ I've hunted down beasts before, but a human? That seems so wrong,  _"Meat is meat."_ An image of Keaton's blood-soaked mouth pops up, after the Ice Tribe massacre.

Trish parts ways, while Cole takes me back to the rooftop. “Yo, Zeke, you won’t believe this!” The man has a magazine over his face and is snoring. “Get your ass up, man.” He shocks the couch.

“Woah! Huh? Cole?” He falls off and the magazine lands…  _ ‘Really?  _ **_That_ ** _ kind of magazine. The pervert!’ _

“Yasei here, she can turn into a dragon.”

“Get out of here.” He looks at me, “Actually, you know what? Go ahead, change.” He mocks. I flash a fanged smile and shift. “Holy…” He passes out.

“Well, brother… I uh, told you so.” I shift back while he laughs, then I giggle. “I’m gonna hit the sack, so be ready for tomorrow, yeah?”

“I’m looking forward to it.” I nod. Cole takes the couch, I get on the floor behind him, while Zeke remains between the couch and the ‘T.V.’

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up really early.  _ ‘The sun has barely even shown yet.’ _ Strange, I usually sleep in… I hear panting. I look around, nothing. Then a whine sounds out. “Wh-who’s there?” A beast comes into view, I drop to my knees and my heart falls to the floor with it. He’s a purple wolf. Ever so slightly glowing. “N-no… Yumi?” Her ears perk, “Hadronix isn’t…?”  _ ‘How does she even properly talk? She said she has this bond.’ _ “Please tell me she just sent you away, right? She’s alive?”

She nudges my hand with her nose, and somehow I get the message,  _ ‘alive’. _ “Then, why are you here?” She circles in place and tries to take off a small bag wrapped around her leg. “For me?” She lets out a small, quiet bark. I undo the strap and open the bag… nothing is in here.  _ ‘Letter’. _ Another bond-word echoes.  _ ‘Is this a bag like Hadronix has?’ _ I think of a letter as I reach in again, and sure enough, I feel paper in my grasp, the pull it out. “ _ These letters won’t be often, I have to be very careful, patrols are tight and frequent. Remember those garbage monsters? Alden, the guy holding me here, calls them Conduits. Apparently after the Blast, people started popping up that could control various forms of matter… like garbage. _ ”

So, Cole is a Conduit, “ _ Sadly, I am also going to have to keep these letters short. Keep that specific bag, I have more… Oh, right. Yumigami cannot return immediately. She’ll return on her own, but the patrols are so often that I think this Alden is paranoid. He keeps yapping on about how ‘Kessler’ ruined his life. From, your retainer. _ ”

“She’s alive and well…” I have contain a laugh of pure happiness, “She’s alive!”

“Keep it down…” Cole grumbles, “Still got a few hours…”

I flush red, “...sorry…” I strap the bag onto me and place the letter inside. Then I lie back down and close my eyes.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zeke gets up and lets out an obnoxiously loud yawn, “Damn man, I could have sworn Yasei turned… What the hell is that!?” He points at Yumigami. “Cole, we got some radioactive wolf on this roof! Yasei, get away from that thing!”

I giggle and Cole reluctantly gets up. “Alright, what other…” He looks at the wolf, “Hold on, that is the… thing Hadronix had?”

“ **She** is Yumigami, Yumi for short. Hadronix sent a letter with her, she’s alive!” I clap my hands.

“And uh, how did that glowing purple light get here?” Zeke asks, while rubbing his eyes.

_ ‘What did Hadronix call it?’ _ “Like so… uh, Yumi. Stealth mode?” Please don’t make me look like a fool. She turns invisible.  _ ‘Instructions’. _ A third bond word.

“Right, I am going to uh, lay down. And in a few hours I will wake up from this drug-induced shitfest. See ya.” He doesn’t even bother getting on the couch.

I reach into the bag, instructions, huh? Out comes a list of commands. Well, that is certainly useful. Number 1: A high pitched whistle that drops low is Yumigami’s call.  _ ‘I knew that much.’ _

“Yea? ‘Bout time. On it.” Cole’s shortest phone call yet. “Not sure if you want to join on this one, so…”

“Why not?” I ask as I continue to read from the commands.

“Going to the sewers.” I pause for a moment… then gag. “Thought so, I already had Moya send you coordinates for when one of these missions popped up. Check your phone, I’ll be back tonight.” He jumps off.

“Just you and me, Yumi.” She barks from her invisible state. I flip my phone open and a small list pops up. “Let’s see…”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Dragon Girl! Glad you could make it!” A civilian waves me down.

“Reaper problem?” I ask.

“I stumbled into one of their spots by accident, they have plans to take out the local police station.” She whispers, “Police barely do jack-shit, but it might spur them into action if they get saved.”

I smile, “Consider it done.” I take off for the Police station in question, then focus my senses, Yumi sneaking by my side. Thankfully  _ ‘and by the gods thankfully’ _ Hadronix managed to sneak some upgrades into the bag. She is confident that they are strong enough for bullets. It catches me off guard when I notice that after I ‘attach’ the piece, that it hooks on by itself and blends in to match my Nohrian armor. I trust her, but that doesn’t give me a reason to get careless. No weapons were sent, though. It’s fine, I can handle a bit longer for a sword.

The Reapers are ganged up across the street from the police station, both sides shooting bullets from behind cover. Taking the advantage of being unseen, I dash to the largest clump, one lance thrust is long enough to take two out, an energy sphere from my maw takes out the closest one, and it snaps shut on the fourth and last one on this side. “Woo! Go Dragon Girl!” I hear an officer shout.

Sadly, this causes the rest to focus on me. I partially shift for my head armor and wings, lance and maw still out. I charge as the few bullets that do hit… well they sting, but they don’t pierce. One of them stumbles backwards as he tries to fire and move. Another quick lance strike. Two more. I move one of my wings in front of me, and the scales easily deflect a shotgun blast, using it as a battering ram, I charge forward, outright crushing one as I step on him, and finally snapping the last one in half.

“Hell yeah! That’s…  **Get Down** !” A fissure of blue energy erupts in a line and I dodge. A single Reaper shows up, tall and skinny, covered in a white tattered robe. He seemingly teleports to me and slams a fist, looks are deceiving, and his tiny fist sends me flying backwards. Another fissure follows and I flap my wings once to push myself over it.

_ ‘Yumi, get ready to flank him.’ _ The list of commands assured me she could hear direct thoughts, as long as her name is in it. I land and charge forwards, he appears in front of me again, but this time I am ready. I snap his fist with my maw, biting straight through and I drop the hand on the ground. Yet, I was not expecting him to immediately punch me with his other fist,  _ ‘He didn’t even flinch!’ _ A third, much higher fissure, and I flap again, but since I am not right-side up, my angle is off and the blue energy scrapes my side. It  **burns** , but I am thanking the gods it is on the opposite side of the Wyrmslayer.  _ ‘Yumi!’ _ The man drops dead as Yumi pins him to the floor and quickly tears into his neck. I slide against the ground.  _ ‘Good girl.’ _

“Whoa! She has a pet?” I hear someone ask. Someone else comes by and helps me up, I nod my thanks.

“Stay away from her! She’s still a freak!”  _ ‘What? Even after that?’ _

“Her body changes and she has scales, freak!”

“She saved us!” The police officer counters.

“So you can what? Sit on your ass and eat doughnuts in the Station? Freaks like her caused this mess in the first place!”

“Put the rocks down!”

“Kiss my ass!” A rock hits me, the impact doesn’t hurt, but the emotional force does.  _ ‘I was just helping out…’ _ Another hits me and I run away, “That’s right! Get out of here! Go back to your test chamber!”

I leap up to a rooftop with my wings and kneel down, tears falling.  _ ‘Gods, I left Yumi down…’ _ Seconds later she is by my side, a small field of electricity fading away.  _ ‘Teleportation’. _ Oh… that’s useful.  _ “Just… keep helping people out, it will turn out well in the end.” _ I nod, I just need to keep pushing, they’ll see how much good I can do. I pull out my phone, “What else…?”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With my tears completely dried off I approach the next person, “Oh, thank God, it’s the Dragon Girl. Please, Reapers are holding my husband and several others hostage. They say if we don’t give them our supplies, that they will execute them!”

I nod, “I’ll save them.” A mere two Reapers have their guns pointed at a small group of people.  _ ‘Yumi, left, strike at the same time.’ _

“We’ll ask one more time,” The voice comes out… gurgly? Kind of like the Reaper is drowning while he talks, “Give us the guns.”

Then one of the hostages gasp as I approach,  _ ‘No.’ _ I quickly charge and impale the right one with a lance, Yumi handles the left. “Too close…” I say as I retract my lance. Some of them cower in fear. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m on the good side here.” I pause a few seconds, “You’re free to go.” I move out of the way. One by one they leave.

Then one mumbles, “Think I would have rather died.” Before slamming his foot into my leg.  _ ‘What is with these people?!’ _ I suppress a growl, I don’t need more reason to be feared.

“Third time's the charm, right?” More tears fall as I open the phone once more. “Just need to keep pushing.”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t even get that far, the man who requested for help about his dying wife, shouted, threw rocks and told me to leave. “Damn freak!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I return to the rooftop, emotionally drained. I opt to just cry out the remaining tears. “Woah… Yasei?” Zeke shows up from the stairs, “Damn girl, you look like shit.”

“...Thanks.” I say through wracked sobs.

“Um… want a beer?”

I scrape my head on the roof as I shake it, “I just want people to at least tolerate me. I help, they attack. Some are in life or death situations, but then they turn around and say they would rather die than be saved by  **me** .” I don’t even bother picking myself up as the tears run across the rooftop, “I keep pushing, keep trying, but they keep doing the same. I’m not getting anywhere!” I pause, “Elise would brighten their days, Camilla would raise morale, Xander would easily bring respect, and they would appreciate Leo’s wisdom… but me? Kick me to the curb with the rest of the trash.”  _ ‘Useless, ugly.’ _

“Damn, I wish I had something to say…”

“Camilla would… she always knows what to say.”  _ ‘But Phoenix has probably killed her.’ _ He stays silent after that. I don’t mind. I close my eyes and fall asleep.


	11. A Much Desired Feast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the sting of being outright attacked by citizens she could have helped, Yasei wakes from a nap with a sinking feeling. Before her Dragon starts making demands once more. It's a sick relief for her, she wants to embrace it once more, but given the situation, she refuses to kill as it pleases. Rules need to be made and she needs to balance the time spent in both Shifter and Human sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> I pushed this chapter back a day simply because of my little birthday fic, so it's back to one chapter every three days.

I awake with a start and take a breath, my heart is hammering.  _ ‘They hate me.’ _ My eyes already feel like tearing up again.  _ ‘I just want to help.’ _ I look at the sky, it isn’t even morning yet, Cole is still out, and Zeke is sleeping on the couch. I wipe the sleepiness from my eyes, then my stomach growls.  _ ‘Kill, feast.’ _ I shiver from the Dragon’s protests.  _ ‘Gods, how long has it been since I properly fed myself? I don’t want to but…’ _ Surely just one wouldn’t hurt? Just one… My inner Dragon rumbles its agreement, or maybe that was my stomach.  _ ‘Just one, someone alone, away from the rest.’ _ I form a half smile, my Dragon is finally starting to rear its head more, but I’ve known a sort of peace without it.  _ ‘Still, it’s a terrible idea to leave it unfed.’ _

I quickly drop to the streets below, using my wings to stop me from slamming into the ground. I hone my senses and start searching,  _ ‘Just one.’ _ I keep reminding myself as I keep to the alleyways. “Someone, God.. Help!” I hear a woman scream.  _ ‘They fear me.’ _ I shake my head, I need to keep pushing. I dash towards the noise to see a woman being held against the wall by a… man. Not a Reaper, just a man.

I growl and the man turns around, knife in hand. “Wh… it’s the Dragon Girl!” He startles before running off like a coward.

The woman slowly turns around and shrinks back in fear, “Pl-please…” She whimpers.

I smile, “Go on, you’re free to go.”

She hesitates, “You… aren’t going to kill me? But everyone says…”

“I’m not killing innocents.” I assure her, “Please, get somewhere relatively safe.”  _ ‘Eat, rend.’ _ My Dragon voices its own opinions,  _ ‘No, not her.’ _

“Th-thank you!” She bows and runs off.

That made me feel slightly better,  _ ‘Another person to spread a good word about me.’ _ I smile,  _ ‘Doesn’t change the fact I need to find something to eat.’ _ I pause… then decide to hunt that man down. I lick my lips in anticipation,  _ ‘Kill, feast.’ _ I follow his scent trail, the thought of eating him is bothering me less by the minute, replaced by the pure joy of my Dragon making an appearance once more.

Nearly an hour passes before I reach the spot the coward ran to, an old run-down building, there are several others inside.  _ ‘Perfect.’ _ I let myself in to see a group of four men huddled over a case of… something. “Hey, boys.” I flash a dangerous smile.

The one I scared off nearly stumbles back, “G-God, she… no, please!”

“You idiot!” Another chides him.

I form my lance and they all back up, “Let’s keep this quick, alright?” I move towards them while forming my maw with an energy sphere on the ready, “Because I have a rather large appetite and a helping of raw meat sounds  **very** good right now.” I charge and fire a sphere at one, my lance impales a second, the maw snaps one in half and I retain my momentum and knock the fourth one down, the man is shaking violently. “And the fresher, the better.” He whimpers as I slowly bite into his neck and help myself to his blood.

_ “It is like a… feat of strength, I guess.” _ Keaton’s voice echoes through my head once more and I suddenly feel heated, but this heat feels different. It isn’t a warmth in my core like last time, but just the normal heat I associate with a fresh kill.  _ ‘Blood, maim.’ _ I focus on the addicting taste and smell of a fresh kill. The man’s protests weaken until he stops completely, I rip into his neck and begin ripping the clothes off with my hands. My movements are wild, reckless, but I don’t care. My dragon needs to be fed and by the gods I will eat my fill here.  _ ‘Anything if it means my Dragon returns, gods I missed hearing it so much.’ _

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three of the four men have been all but picked clean, gods, I didn’t realize I was  **that** hungry. I lick the remaining blood around my mouth and let out a content sigh. With my dragon satiated I head back out. My phone starts buzzing and I fish it out of my pocket, “Hello?”

“Yasei? This is Moya.”  _ ‘Great, it’s her.’ _ “I have got a set of coordinates for you, head there a.s.a.p.”

I didn’t even get to reply before she hung up,  _ ‘That… bitch.’ _ How does Cole put up with her? I shake my head and turn the gps on, time for work… I guess.  _ ‘This person better be grateful.’ _ I take a running leap and bound up the nearest building, before grabbing a ledge and making another jump. Landing on the rooftop I start to make my way towards the objective.

It turns out there is a standoff between a small group of Reapers, some gang members, and two Police Officers. One of the Reapers has this strange bag in its hand, I can sense a sort of power radiating from it, which immediately catches my interest. The gang leader is holding a small remote and is shouting about blowing up some building. The Police officers? Those cowards are shaking in their boots.  _ ‘You guys are supposed to be keeping the peace.’ _ I roll my eyes, but… who should I go for?  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _

_ ‘I can catch the Reaper with that bag pretty quick… I know I can’t get to that gang leader before he presses that button, I simply lack the speed. I’m not even going to bother with the Police Officers, if they can’t handle the job, then they shouldn’t have joined the force.’ _ I startle myself out of my thoughts,  _ ‘No! I need to keep pushing! Abandoning the law will  _ **_not_ ** _ help my case… but that bag.’ _ I shake my head, I’ll assist the officers, try to stop that gang leader, then track down the bag-carrying Reaper later.

With a plan in mind, I leap towards the three-way, opting to charge the gang first, perhaps a sudden entrance will startle them long enough for me to secure that detonator. “It’s the Dragon Girl!” One of the gang members shout, before landing a pistol shot on my armor. It didn’t penetrate, but by the gods did I feel the impact.

I ready my lance and go to impale the leader,  _ ‘Kill, maim.’ _ The leader drops dead, then I yelp in pain as a bullet makes it way partially into my armor, opposite side of my Wyrmslayer wound. Gritting my teeth, I retract my lance and fire a sphere at one of the gang members... the Reapers have fled. The man easily dodges the slower-moving sphere and fires another shot.  _ ‘Gods…’ _ I grunt in pain and charge the man, I summon my wings and block one shot, then snap him in half with my maw.  _ ‘It hurts…’ _ I whimper, but fight through the pain and finish off the last opposer.

“Dragon Girl…” One of the Police Officers comes by and smiles, “Thank you.”

“This detonator… it’s a dud.” The other states, “God, this was all for…”

“But they won’t be troubling anyone now, so it’s not a complete loss.” I try to assure them. “And I’ll track those Reapers down, that won’t be a problem for me.”

“Truly? Thank you, I wish there were more like you, Dragon Girl.” The first one smiles again.

“Agreed, a few more heroes like you and we can free the rest of the Officers and actually stand a chance.”

That catches my attention, “Um, pardon? Free the rest?”

He nods with a frown, “Sadly, a large number of our force was taken by the Reapers, who have a foothold in the subway tunnel connecting The Neon and The Warren. It is their main base, we can’t even get near it.”

_ ‘Well then… that is something to bring up to Cole, gods know I can’t survive that many bullets. The armor upgrade is nice, but Hadronix is obviously lacking in decent materials.’ _ I nod, “Thank you for the information Officers, now I need to go track down some Reapers.” They give me one more round of ‘thank you’ and I’m off. I follow the trail through the city and I end up in a section of the city without any light. A sudden sense of dread hits me hard, some part of me is screaming I shouldn’t be here.

But that bag…  _ ‘Gods, I shouldn’t be this curious, but it looked like something really important.’ _ Shaking my head, I continue moving through the darkness, even as that uneasy feeling increases. Instinct kicks in and I jump back as no less than ten bullets fly across from where I was just standing. I hear a vehicle coming in and I back up against the wall. A huge truck comes rolling in with a Reaper behind a small metal wall with a barrel… a gun poking out of it.  _ ‘And the bullets lined up to that thing are huge!’ _ My armor won’t save me from that…

Then he notices me, I squeak and leap up as a trail of bullets all but nip at my feet,  _ ‘Thank the gods he doesn’t know how to lead shots.’ _ I continue climbing until I reach the roof, then roll forwards as bullets manage to  **pierce** the roof and continue flying.  _ ‘That kind of power is insane!’ _ I dash back to the lit part of the Neon, before a glowing blue shard catches my eye, it is radiating that same power as that bag did. Against my better judgement, I grab the shard and sprint back.


	12. Outsiders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at The Rooftop, Zeke informs both Cole and Yasei of a group of hostages. Yumigami, Hadronix's Void Wolf, also pays a visit, with a gift for the half-Dragon, a little something of home.
> 
> Later on that same day, another threat rises, in the form of tar-like substance, another Conduit. Yasei manages to confront her, who seems to know that there are people in this world who don't belong here.
> 
> Outsiders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> I'm going to start pushing back this to one chapter every four days, so that 'Deal with the Devil' can be posted in between those. So, it will go, two days from now will be 'DwtD', two days after that will be 'BaT' and so on.

After I got back to the rooftop, I explained to Cole what exactly happened, then show him the rock. “That,” He starts, “Is a Blast Shard.” He merely touches it and it just… gets sucked into his body? Like it just… alright then. “And those increase the amount of electricity I can store, thank you.”

I have a stunned look on my face, “I’ll… be on the lookout for them, then.” I sheepishly smile.

“Cole! Yasei! Great news!” Zeke all but barges through the rooftop’s door.

“You finally landed a girl?” Cole chuckles and I smile.

“Huh? Nah man, I don’t need a woman. No, what I mean is that I…” 

A bark echoes around the roof Zeke jumps in place. A purple-furred wolf seemingly appears out of nowhere. “Yumigami?” I ask. The wolf circles in place and pulls off a pouch attached to her leg and drops it in front of me. She barks again and sits down, panting happily. I pet her and she lays down, then I pick up the pouch.

“So, what do you think, Cole?” Zeke asks. “You in?”

“Huh? In what?” I open the pouch and my eyes brighten. “Ooo…”

“There’s a gang of…” He stops as I pull out a sword from the pouch, “Okay, now how the  **hell** does that work?!”

My breath catches as I see that it looks just like my birthday sword from Xander. Though there are a few differences, it is lighter, for one, there is also a small button near the guard. Out of curiosity I press it and the blade splits down the middle and a cross bolt fires from it. “Wow.” The blade returns to its normal form right after.

“Anyway!” Zeke announced, “There’s a gang of Reapers that have taken a large...”

“Police Officers?” I interrupt.

“Oh, so you  **do** know. Well then. You in?” He looks sort of frustrated.  _ ‘Not that I blame him… I kind of interrupted him three times.’ _

With my blade in hand, I flash a vicious smile, “Yea I am.”  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cole, Yumigami, and I end up at a large fort built right before the entrance to the bridge to the Warren. “This is it, the Reaper stronghold.” Cole comments, Yumi barks in approval.

“There’s a lot of Reapers in there.” I state as I hone my senses. “Like, dozens.”

“Eh, nothing we can’t handle.” He has that smirk on his face.

“I hope you’re planning on being my shield, then… I can’t take more than a few bullet shots.” I pause, “Actually…” I focus my senses, well the room is large enough, “Nevermind, I’ll be fine.”

He raises his eyebrow, but shrugs it off, “Whatever you say,  **Dragon Girl** .” He blasts the door open and we charge, and the very second I am in… and have the room, my dragonstone glows and I shift,  _ ‘Finally, gods, it’s been too long.’ _ “Oh… shit.” He comments as he starts sniping down Reapers.

I charge headlong and just as I thought, the bullets merely graze my scales, granted, I can still feel the impact, but they aren’t breaking through anytime soon. I thrash with my tail, impale with my horns, and pierce with my water, internally I am giggling.  _ ‘Oh, it feels great to be in this form again!’ _

One by one the Reapers drop dead, when the last one dies, we move towards the next room, I shift back before we enter so I can  **fit** through the door, where the Police Officers are in cages. “Hold on, we got you.” Cole states, “Uh, back up some.” He blasts the lock off of one.

“We’ll get you out of here.” I say as I summon my maw and snap a lock off. The process repeats until they are all free.

“Thank you! Both of you!”

“You’re welcome, Officers… just promise you’ll stay safe, alright?” Cole asks.

“We’ll do better than that, we’ll rally the Police!” One of them confidently states, “Come on men, let’s move out!”

Cole looks like he was about to say something, but his phone rings, “Yea?”

“Cole?” I hear Trish’s voice clearly.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are people getting sick out here, and there is this strange black-tar coming out of the fountain.” Both Cole and I are looking around the room, where the same substance lies.

“Yeah, Yasei and I just freed the Police Officers, they were being held in a room with that black-tar thing.”

“Is there any way to stop it from there?”

“No, there aren’t any pipes leading to the outside… listen, hang tight, we’ll be there, alright?”

“Please hurry.” and with that the phone call ends.

“Shall we?” He asks and I nod.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gods… it looks so horrible. The fountain in the center is oozing out that same black tar and the people around it are seemingly dying on the spot. Whatever Trish tells Cole goes straight over my head,  _ ‘Kill, Ravage!’ _ I clench my fists, whoever did this… I pick up a very faint sound, it is a person that has the heavy scent that is just like the black tar.  _ ‘Just my luck.’ _ I dash towards the sound.

“Yasei?” Cole calls out, but I’m already too focused on the chase.

I catch a glimpse, a woman whose lower half looks like it is made of that black tar, the rest of her looks sickly pale and it seems like her clothes are made out of tar. I let out a growl and she turns my way, “Oh my… and who are you?” She smiles as these small tendrils slither out of her mouth. I respond by forming my maw, “A Conduit? No… You are an outsider.” The smile fades as a sickly red/black aura envelopes her arms. “I would remember someone like you.”

_ ‘Outsider? How does she know?’ _ No, I shake my head, now isn’t the time for that. I charge and ready my maw, intending on snapping her in half. She seems completely unbothered and lets the maw close…

Then she simply walks away, unharmed. The tar seals the maw shut,  _ ‘I can’t retract it…’ _ She shakes her head and tuts, “Now now, is that a proper way to treat a lady?” She sends out a blast of that tar and I barely manage to move out of the way, I hiss as some of it hits my body,  _ ‘It burns.’ _ She laughs and sends out another, then another. Some of it hits my face, thankfully I manage to shut my eyes before it seeps it, but does that really matter? My eyelids are trapped in the sticky tar. “What a shame, I was hoping…”

A howl interrupts her and I feel the air around her start to heat up. I can sense a beam of energy striking her location and she cries out in pain.  _ ‘Yumigami?’ _ Another beam accompanies a second howl, I can practically  **feel** the magic coming from the Void-beast’s paws. “More outsiders…” Her presence simply vanishes. The wolf approaches me and I feel that energy flow through the air again. I hiss as she expertly shoots more beams.

The tar fades, though I am left with a horrible headache. “Thanks…” The wolf happily barks and sits down. I pet her and she starts panting. She then whines, “Aw… now?” She gives me a small nod before dashing off.  _ ‘I didn’t even get to have him for a day this time…’ _

_ “I will get you for this, outsider…” _ The woman’s voice echoes through my head.

“Yasei? Yasei! What the hell happened?” Cole runs up to me.

“Found the source of it.” I comment. “Another Conduit. Female.”

He crosses his arms, “Well…”

“I would've thought you would have stuck with Trish… you really didn’t need to check up on me, you know.” I frown.

“Hey, we’re allies, right?” He offers his hand, “And I would be a pretty bad one if I just let you run off headfirst.”

I giggle as I shake his hand, “Why, so you can run along headfirst with me?”

He raises his hands, “Guilty as charged, come on… there are wheels that are changing the course of the water so it picks up that tar crap on the way to the fountain. We just need to shut ‘em off, and we’re good.”

I shrug, “Sounds easy enough…”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I jinxed it, because why not? The wheel was guarded by no less than a dozen Reapers and with Cole out getting a different one…  _ ‘They fear me… I just need to keep pushing.’ _ I decide against shifting, I don’t need the bystanders getting another reason to point their finger and call me a freak. I steady my breath as I pull out my sword, just gotta aim… I press the button and a bolt releases, striking a Reaper dead on… in the leg.  _ ‘Gods…’ _ Well, at least I hit him. With my location exposed, I charge in, maw and lance at the ready. “I fight for peace!”

I’m assuming my appearance must have unnerved them, because the shots that were being fired missed me completely. Regardless, I rip through several with a single swipe of my lance, then retract it and resumed wielding my sword, I open my maw and snap another in half, before slicing a Reaper’s head off. The dance continues as each of them seemingly drop like flies.  _ ‘Am I faster? Is that why the bullets aren’t hitting me?’ _ I shrug as I let the maw fade and I sheathe my sword, then I pause,  _ ‘Gods, which way… wait, what did Hadronix tell me? Righty tighty, lefty loosey? So… right would tighten it, and stop the flow?’ _ Nodding to myself, I turn the wheel right… only to get blasted in the face with some tar.  _ ‘Godsdamnit, I thought tightening it would  _ **_stop_ ** _ it from coming out, not adding more!’ _ I stagger backwards.

_ “Hello, darling.” _ I sigh, great… it’s her again.  _ “You are truly a unique specimen.” _

_ ‘You are a creep…’ _ I shake my head,  _ ‘Gods, I wish Yumi were here to burn this stuff off again.’ _

_ “I would love to meet you in person again… maybe under better circumstances? A dinner? I can grab several tasty morsels that you can really  _ **_sink_ ** _ your teeth into…’ _ Gods, I can’t tune her voice out.  _ “I’ll talk to you later, sweetie.” _ The voice fades along with the tar. I shake my head one more time for good measure.

_ ‘Cole is prob…’ _ My thoughts are interrupted when my cell phone rings,  _ ‘Speak of the devil.’ _ I pull the phone up, “Hey Cole.”

“Hey, are you handling your side well?” My face flushes,  _ ‘Did he really just call to check up on me?’ _

“It’s done on my side, yours?”  _ ‘He called just to check up on me… this man is way too good for his own… good. Huh.’ _

“On my way back to Trish.” I nod, even though he can’t see it.

“I’ll be there.” I close the phone and make my way back to the meet-up point. Another deed done, hopefully since I’m helping out Trish, a doctor, then that will earn me some bonus points on being treated better by the people…

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I arrived first and see that Trish is tending to more people along with a doctor, at least the fountain is spraying clean water again. “Hi, Trish!” I gently say.

She raises a hand while she applies some sort of gel to a person’s arm, before patting on it gently, then applying a cloth to it. “There you go, as long as you don’t put too much strain on it, you’ll be fine.” She gives him a gentle smile.

“Thank god there are still people like you out here.” He nods and gets up… yet when he sees me, he tenses, but at least he’s not running or shouting.

“Thank you for helping out, Yasei. It really means a lot.” She does a half-bow, “Even when it seems like you’re just turning a wheel.”

I have a small smile, “You’re welcome.”

A small cloud of dust forms as Cole drops on from high, “That’s the last one.” I take a glance and see that he is nearly  **covered** in that tar. “A third one popped up.” He informs us.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” I flash a fanged smile. “What was that earlier? About not letting me charge off on my own?”

Cole chuckles, but Trish has a straight face as she holds out a can, “She’s right, Cole.” She shakes the can, “Hold still…” She starts spraying him with a mist as the tar seemingly falls right off. “You two are comrades, right? You shouldn’t go working alone unless it’s absolutely required.”

The Conduit’s own face turns solemn, “Right.” He nods as Trish does the same with me. “That tar was also… inhibiting my powers, I couldn’t fire off as much or throw grenades.” He looks his hands over in concern, before forming a smile, “But, better me than the average person.”

_ ‘There it is again, that selflessness I have come to associate with him.’ _ I smile.  _ ‘...and admire about him.’ _ I pause in my thoughts,  _ ‘He has a girlfriend, this is just admiration, not a crush.’ _ Then a realization strikes me as Keaton’s voice echoes through my mind,  _ “I don’t need to mate with you for a while.” _

“Yasei? Are you okay?” I notice it’s just Cole and me, while I am absentmindedly looking myself over.  _ ‘It has been months since Keaton has told me that… and even longer since I last mated, so…’ _ I frown. “Yasei?”

I shake my head, “It’s nothing.” I don’t sound sure of myself and the way he raises his eyebrows suggest he doesn’t believe it.

Yet, he just shrugs it off, “Alright, let’s head back to the rooftop, then.”

I nod, “Okay.” We start making our way back,  _ ‘...so, shouldn’t I have gained a larger belly?’ _


	13. Doctor Cole

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress on bringing order to the Neon is slow, it's almost like a step is taken back every other crime Cole or Yasei stops. But, it should start to turn in their favor, right?
> 
> The princess also meets a new conduit, who seems to be aligned to no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.

I all but collapse on the rooftop, my body spread out as I let out a sigh.  _ ‘That tar also seems to have drained me physically.’ _ I hear Cole rummaging through the… ‘cooler’, was it? Surprisingly, Zeke wasn’t here when we got back. Cole pops the cap on a bottle and takes a drink. “Ah, crap…” The man sighs as he gets up, then I hear lightning bolts fire across the rooftop, before the T.V. turns on. “There…’

I hold back a giggle. “...stay out of the Warren,” A voice comes through, “if you thought the Neon was bad, the Warren has it beat by a shit ton.” I get up and look at the screen, “There’s rumors of more terrorists plotting to strike the city… basic rule, if a person can take multiple bullets, don’t trust them.”

“Ah, screw you.” Cole went to change the channel.

“No! Wait.” He stops. “It’s the Warren, Hadronix is there, maybe…”

“Also got reports of really strange monsters roaming the place, this stuff is like those children bedtime stories come real, man.” The T.V. man continues, “Large piles of garbage,” The screen briefly changes to show said Conduit, though the picture is fuzzy, “And glimpses of this,” an even fuzzier image pops up.

“Hadronix…” I breathe, sure, I can barely make it out, but those shoulder pads are the most prominent thing, those teeth-like spikes coming out of the top.

“Whatever you do, stick in the Neon, Voice of Survival, out.” I roll my eyes.

“She’s alright.” I lean back.

“Of course she is.” Cole replies as if I’m worrying too much,  _ ‘Maybe I am.’ _ “She’s obviously made of some pretty tough stuff.”

I pause,  _ ‘But you didn’t see her hopeless side… when she doesn’t have access to her gadgets.’ _ I shakily nod, “Yea, I know.” I lie back down and sigh.

“Yea, a nap sounds pretty good right now… never know when ‘Moya’ is going to call…” I can hear a frustrated sigh from him.  _ ‘Ah, so he’s getting tired of her, too.’ _ He places the bottle on the table and flops on the couch as his breathing evens out, before falling asleep on the spot.  _ ‘He also has been putting more hours than me in.’ _

I fall asleep soon after.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up some time later to see Cole gone, I was about to get rather irked that he left again, until I saw a note,  _ ‘Restoring more power, going to the sewers.’ _ Oh, that’s fine, the sewers are too rank for me. I take out my phone and look over the checklist,  _ ‘Let’s see…’ _ a number of stuff has been marked as complete,  _ ‘How long has he been awake?’ _ I shake my head with a smile,  _ ‘I swear, if he woke up minutes after I fell asleep…’ _ Ah, there, a few dealing with Police, hostages, and stolen goods. With the location in mind, I head off.

I just gotta keep pushing. I take a running leap off of our rooftop and land on another, it’ll be over here…

I arrived at the rooftop next to the scene,  _ ‘Since these people never bother to look up,’ _ one of the Policemen is carrying a bag of those Blast Shards and the Reapers are holding several people at gunpoint. With my target chosen I take another leap and dive towards the Reapers, using my wings to slow down my fall just enough to prevent any self-harm, I extend my lance arm and impale the first Reaper, before spinning around, lance still in the ground, and kicking two of the others, I then retract my lance and slam into the third one with the leftover speed. Unconscious, but not dead, I pick off each of them as they lie there.

“I got you.” I gently state as I undo their binds.

“Th-Thank you!” And for once, I am not only properly thanked, but one of them gives me a hug.

“N-Not a problem, miss… stay safe, okay?” I push back the tears of joy. She quickly nods before setting off.

“Excellent work, Dragon Girl.” The Police Officer smiles, the ones with the bag.

That slimy scent that I have associated with deceit covers him and I narrow my eyes, “It’s no problem.”

He extends his hand and offers the bag, “This thing has caused us nothing but trouble.” I carefully move to grab it… and barely managed to pull back before he grabbed me.

“Back off.” I snarl. “Whose side are you on?”

He chuckles and his form seems to shift, “The fun side.” His body seemingly melts… no, it looks like a layer of detailed paint, it slides off of him and he now looks like a man made of water. “Now then.” Even his voice has a echoey sound.

I gasp as a bullet rips straight through my armor and digs into my shoulder. A quick glance shows off a sniper. I shakily form my maw and head armor, “Stand down.” I cannot will my lance back, that side simply hurts too much.  _ ‘That cannot have been just a normal bullet, either.’ _

He tilts his head, before forming a lance and maw, “Nice trick.” He thrusts his lance forwards and I barely had time to dodge as it extends much further than mine. There is no downtime as he charges me again, “Come on, put up a fight!” My maw snatches his lance and I manage to hold it down. Using my strength, I lift him off the ground and throw him at a nearby building, then hiss as another bullet digs into my other shoulder, forcing the maw away.  _ ‘Coward!’ _ Gritting my teeth I force myself to shift.  _ ‘Kill, rend!’ _ I charge the man and manage to grab him, who smirks before seemingly melting through my grasp and coming back together on the ground, he lands a lance pierce on me. “Weak.”

Then he yells in pain as his form is assaulted by an explosion of electricity, “Not cool, dude.” I hear Cole announce from the roof where the sniper was. The water man was about to retort before he was hit by a paper-thin stream of electricity, yet it seemed to do more damage than Cole’s normal bolts. He scoffs before dispersing into a puddle and disappearing into a nearby manhole. “You alright?” The Conduit smells like sewage.

“Honestly? No.” I shift back, “I got shot twice.” My arms feel like they refuse to cooperate.

His hands pulse electricity and nods, “Hold still, alright?”

I also nod, “I trust you.” His hands meet one shoulder and a pulse of electricity hits me, I yelp, but then feel much better, “Picked up something new?” I ask as he repeats the process for the other shoulder.

“Mhm.” He backs up, “Well, the Neon is all lit up once more.”

_ “Ooo, which means I get to see you all real soon.” _ That tar woman’s voice echoes. “Cole… have you been hearing a woman’s voice after that tar incident?”

His frown says it all, “You too, huh?” He shakes his head, “Can’t wait to get her out of the way.”

I nod, “She is very annoying. So, where to next?”

He shrugs, “Just clearing up the rest of the areas…” His phone starts vibrating, as if Moya has somehow found out they were considered ‘free’, “Hey… Trish?”  _ ‘Alright, it’s Trish, then.’ _ “Wh-what? Yea, on our way!” He gives me a grave look, “Reapers have outfitted a bus with armor and a row of machine guns, they’re tearing through the city.” He doesn’t even bother waiting for my response, not that I blame him, so I follow shortly after.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_ ‘Gods…’ _ The scene is horrible, the bus has already passed through several streets and there are bodies everywhere. Blood and bullet casings cover the ground, some people have the mercy of being shot once, others go up to dozens of bullet holes in them.  _ ‘This is so wrong.’ _ I shake my head and keep moving, towards the sound of those infernal guns.

“Damn, that  **is** some serious armor.” He comments as he scans it from a rooftop, “There’s rubber on most of it, too, I can’t do anything with that on it.”

I narrow my eyes and get a better look, “There is a… generator? On top of it.”

“Under that flap?” He asks and I nod, “Alright, I just need to get there and I can clean this up real fast.”

“That’s a pretty narrow jump to make,” I comment, “Let’s try something,” I flash a fanged smile. “How would you like experience the feel of gliding?” A simple smirk is my response, I form my wings, “Hold on tight.” He grabs my arms and I jump off, one flap of my wings and we are speeding towards the bus, “Here we go.” I swoop right above it and Cole drops off, I flap my wings again and form my lance, then catch a wall on a building so I can climb out of the firing range. No more than a minute later an explosion echoes as the bus blows up. “Nice.” I smile as I drop down.

“Yea, three whole streets… I know, too many died.” Cole looks pretty out of it, “I understand, but we’re only two people, we can only do so much at a time… Moya has me by the balls, Trish, if she calls I  **have** to do that first. I know.” He sighs, “How about this, I’ll drop by and show off my new healing powers so I can give you a break. Alright, I’ll be there soon.” Cole sighs again, “So much to do and not enough time to do it all before a shitstorm comes by.” His eyes stares down the armored bus, “They probably have more of those, as well…”

“I’ll track some stuff down, while you help out Trish, okay?” I offer, “I’ll get some big targets out of the way.”

He smiles, “Thanks Yasei.”

I return the smile, “Not a problem, Cole.” He makes off for the hospital and I take out my phone, “Now, where…” I pause,  _ ‘By the gods, why is  _ **_Zeke_ ** _ on the list?!’ _ I shake my head and go towards him,  _ ‘You better not have gotten in some deep trouble.’ _

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The plump man is standing on the side of the street, “Zeke…” I greet as I slow my descent.

“Woah… Hey, Dragon Girl.” He startles, “Hey, have you seen Cole?”

I roll my eyes, “Cole is not available right now, would you like for me to take a message?” He looks like he is about to retort, “He’s trying to make amends with Trish, now, what do you need?”

He nervously chuckles, “Well, there’s this uh, chick that I know from a few years back…” I narrow my eyes as I catch the intense scent of lust, “...hoping you could.”

“You wanted someone who is sacrificing their time and energy to do things like stop serial murderers and armored buses to help you get laid?” I interrupt.

“Uh, what?” He tries to act surprised.

“Zeke, I can smell emotions and right now, as you were telling me your ‘problem’ there was a heavy scent of lust coming off of you…”

He throws his hands up, “Alright, yea, you’re right… It’s just, you know?”

“No, and I haven’t known…” I pause, “for a while.”  _ ‘Wait a minute…’ _ My hand grazes my stomach,  _ ‘No, breathe… I just… don’t know, maybe for once my dragon didn’t align with Wolfskin and I was hoping… that’s it. I never got pregnant, I mean, I never shown any signs, but if that’s the case… why haven’t I been in heat, either?’ _

“Hello? Earth to Yasei?” Zeke waves a hand in front of me and I startle, “Whew, you were really gone, how did you not feel being slapped?”

“You slapped me?” I press a hand to each of my cheeks, “Oh…” I look away, “I need to get moving… have a good day.”

“It’s only a few hours from night… ah hell, whatever.”

I make my way back to the rooftop,  _ ‘I’m fine, I just never got pregnant… I was just assuming,’ _ The doubt started to gnaw on me, I need something else to focus on… and that’s when my phone rang,  _ ‘Thank the gods…’ _ I open it up, “Hello?”

“Success.” I nearly drop it.

“Hadronix?!”

“That’s my name.” I can almost hear the smirk form on her face, “Found this piece of crap in a garbage pile and fixed it up.”

“Aren’t you concerned Alden…?”

“That paranoid bastard left over a week ago and hasn’t returned,” She responds, “So, this place is practically mine until he decides to show his sorry butt again.”

I giggle in kind, “You think you can kick him out of his own tower? Isn’t it made of garbage?”

“Turns out his powers are connected to his mind, he has a sort of telepathy, he isn’t controlling the garbage itself.” She says, “And he can’t if it is too densely packed… like, say his own tower.”

I pause, “But, you’re still stuck over there, aren’t you?”

She scoffs, “I’m not staying here, I’m going to hook up some Goblin-style presents around this tower, and I’m high-tailing it out of this dump.”

“Goblin-Style presents?” I repeat.

“Explosives, nice big bombs… with a remote detonator, so we can watch it fall together.”

“That will make him really angry, and if comes at us with that suit of garbage.”

“Yasei… I got it handled.” I can hear the confidence in her voice, the same cocky, experienced Hadronix I remember back in Nohr and Hoshido.

“Nice to hear you are back to your old, blunt, and cocky self, Hadronix.” I roll my eyes and smirk.

“Hey! Who are you calling old?” She laughs soon afterwards and I follow suit, “I’ll see you within a… few days? At the soonest.”

“You too.” She hangs up,  _ ‘Gods, it is so good to hear her like that again.’ _ I finish my trek back up to the rooftop and snag the couch while it is still available, I fall asleep mere moments later.


	14. A Much Needed Moment of Reprieve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life in the Neon is slowly starting to become normal, as normal as it can get, anyway. On one of Yasei's 'free days', Hadronix meets up with her, sharing her view from Alden's tower of garbage.
> 
> The Draconic princess also finally learns the 'why' her Dragon went silent when she first woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.

The days that follow feel like clockwork, wake up, go do a dozen or so tasks, take a quick break, do so more, pass out on the roof, wake up again. But thankfully, the work Cole and I are putting in is starting to show, crime is going down, the Reapers are being pushed back, the Neon is slowly being cleaned up, and the people are cheering both Cole’s and my name.  _ ‘And it feels great.’ _ Every day feels like I have more energy to spare after every ‘Thank you!’ or ‘You’re the best, Dragon Girl.’ ‘Can I get your autograph? Picture?’

Trish even welcomed me with open arms,  _ ‘And she was right all along, I just had to keep pushing.’ _ Right now, Trish and I are walking around the Neon, since the crime went down, and with Cole helping out with healing, the combined efforts of the rescued doctors, Cole, and Trish end up giving the Conduit and his girlfriend some spare time. “I am so proud of what you two have accomplished.” She gives me a gentle smile

“I am happy to help out.” I nod, “At first it felt so… impossible.” I admit. “But as Cole and I started clearing out little bits of the city, it just started getting easier.”

“With the two of you, I’m sure the entirety of Empire City can be restored.”

“Still got some major problems, though.” We both stop and turn around, “Hello Trish, I am Hadronix.” The hunter bows.

“I… a bear?” She glances at me.

“Pandaren.” Hadronix smirks. “Aw, come on? No hugs? Cries of victory? Lame.” At that, I leap into her arms.

“It’s good to have you back, Hadronix.” I pull back, “What about Alden?”

She shrugs, “Still missing, I’m starting to think one of the new conduits took him out.” Her look turns grave, “That Water one isn’t the only new one walking around.” She glances over at Trish, “Right now, we’re dealing with,” She raises a finger, “There’s Alden, he has a form of Telepathy,” Another finger, “Sasha, she’s the tar lady, also has a base between the bridge from the Neon and Warren. The water one, he seems to just wander. Kessler, he controls electricity,” She pauses, “And considering that there is a  **forest** growing on the far side of the Historic District, I’d say there is a Conduit that can control plant life there.”

“That’s… quite a few.” I shudder, “Any ideas for them?”

“I can’t really say, since I only really catch glimpses of them, though I have a feeling that a sudden drop to a sub-zero temperature will freeze the water Conduit. Problem is, I don’t have access to the tools that I can use to make such a thing, these tools are primitive at best. It is garbage, after all.”

“You seem very knowledgeable, Hadronix.” Trish compliments, “Do you know any medicinal techniques for the tar? I am running out of the spray I use to remove them.”

She pauses, “I’ll get some sample of it and see what I can do. No promises, though.”

“Any little bit helps.” She smiles and we start walking.

“How’s your armor holding up?” She looks at me.

“Pistols and most of the automatics only hurt from impact, shotguns, sniper rifles, and miniguns pierce straight through it.”

“Hm… I might be able to fix the absorption for the shotgun, but that’s really it. Now, if I had the materials I use from Azeroth, then I could whip up a really nice set of armor for you… how’s the sword?”

“I wish you had a paper telling me it could fire crossbow bolts.” I narrow my eyes and smile. “Honestly though, it’s wonderful.”

Hadronix giggles, “...must have slipped my mind.” She flashes me a smirk.

A thought from yesterday crosses my mind, “...Hadronix?”

“Yes?” She must have been able to tell it is serious, because her expression went stern.

“I have a question, when we got here… and that pool of blood near me.” I slowly state.

Trish gives me a concerned look while Hadronix’s face goes blank for a moment. “Not now.” The hunter replies after a minute.

“I want…”

“Not now.” She cuts me off.

“...Alright.” I don’t like that air of concern around her.

“I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have to go.” Trish speaks up, “There’s another bus-load of patients on the way to the clinic that treats tar-inflicted patients.” She gives both of us a smile, “It was nice talking to you two.”

“...and she’s considerate.” Hadronix comments after a minute, then sighs. “Let’s… get to a rooftop.” She pulls out some sort of hook, two of them, and makes her way up a building. I take my leap, flap my wings once, and hang on to the edge, before pulling myself up. “Show… off.” The Hunter mutters as she pulls herself over the edge.  _ ‘Gods, she is already panting?’ _

“So…” I start off, unsure how to continue.

She takes a moment, “You lost a lot of blood.” She states the obvious.

I nod, “Phoenix ripped my Wyrmslayer wound open.”

Several more minutes pass as she seems deep in thought, then shakes her head. “Yasei, I want you to do something.”

I furrow my brows, “Why can’t you just tell me? You usually go straight to the point.”

Yet, she seems to ignore my protests, “Raise your hand, and hold it over your Wyrmslayer wound.” I sigh and do as she says, and she mirrors my movements, “When Phoenix stabbed you, not grazed, not slashed, but stabbed,” She once again states the obvious, “That ‘Levin Sword’ was angled in such a way that it went…” She stops as she moves her hand from her initial spot, diagonally to her… core.

I follow her course, and she stops… I wait a few more precious moments, but all she gives me is a raised eyebrow. “She…” Words fail me.

“I’m sorry.” Hadronix removes her hand. “Being blunt isn’t always the way, I didn’t tell you at the time, because it would cause unneeded stress.”

She was probably still talking, but I wasn’t hearing anything. “Then I was…?”  Tears of anger stream from my eyes, “And she  **took** them from me?”

She slowly nods, “And the electricity damaged the surrounding organs, so you won’t be able to… have children.”

_ ‘Which is why I haven’t gone into heat… I  _ **_can’t_ ** _ go into heat.’ _ I slump down as I feel my will just fade. “Gods…” By all means, I want to find anger, sorrow, something, but… there’s nothing. It feels like hours pass as I sit there, and all Hadronix can seem to do is just stand beside me, unable to think of anything to say. The buzzing of my phone snaps me out of my stupor,  _ ‘Not now…’ _ I sigh and pull it out. “Yes?”

“Sound a bit like shit, don’t you?” Came Cole’s voice, lightening my mood somewhat, “Tracked Sasha down, you in?”

“I…” I hesitate, “think I'm going to sit this one out.” Hadronix gives me a worried look. “Sorry.”

“Eh, it's all good.” Came his usual relaxed tone, “Rest up, yeah? Can't be much of a superhero duo with only one hero, right?”

….Superhero duo?  _ ‘I guess I never really thought about it before, I mean…’  _ “Sure thing.” The conversation ends there.

I look up to see the hunter with a pleased expression, “You two care for each other.” The statement isn't in jest.

I nod with a small smile on my face, “Yea, I guess we do…” Hadronix offers her hand and I accept it, she helps me up with rather concerning difficulty.  _ ‘Right, that genetic defect thing… Gods, I can only imagine how much it eats her up.’ _

“It’ll be fine.” She comments, “I’ve learned to deal with it.” Her voice becomes smaller, weaker, “As long as I have Engineering, I’m fine.”

“How could you…?” I am honestly taken by surprise.

She smirks, yet it lacks the normal cockiness, “Lucky guess? Shall we return to ‘the’ rooftop?” I nod again and we’re off.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We return to the rooftop right as a particularly loud snore comes from Zeke. I share a look with Hadronix, who simply shrugs… then smirks. “Prank?” She quietly giggles.

“I didn’t think you were into that stuff?” I’m sure that whatever she has planned will be worth it.

She rummages through her seemingly bottomless pocket, “Let’s see… something harmless, but,” She trails off, then pulls out a sort of can. “Yea, that should do it.”

“And  **that** is?” I look it over, it features a picture of hair, though I can’t read whatever is written on it.

The smirk never left, “I shouldn’t be surprised you don’t ha...” She stops herself as my mood dampens somewhat,  _ ‘Nohr is gone…’ _ She places a hand on my shoulder, “Just watch, yea?” With that, she creeps over to the man, before shaking the can and pressing some sort of button on it. A sort of pink mist comes from it, which ends up enveloping Zeke’s head and she darts back to me. “Down!” She whispers as he starts coughing.

“I thought you said harmless?!” I shoot her a look.

“Oh shush you, it’s basically smoke.” With that, we observe him get up with…

I had to contain a full-blown laughter as his hair is now a very vivid  **pink** . “What the hell?” He gets up,  _ ‘Gods, even his  _ **_arm_ ** _ hair is pink.’ _ Hadronix isn’t faring much better than me with staying silent. “What kind of smoke… Hadronix!” He immediately accuses the hunter before he even sees her.

Unable to keep it in anymore, we both burst out in laughter, which gives our position away, not that we were hiding behind anything in the first place. “Gods, that’s just…”

“What the hell is so funny?” He walks our way.

Hadronix smiles innocently, “I think it looks good on him, what about you?” She looks at me, then back to him.

I nod, “The ladies will love it.” Another wave of giggles comes.

“What are you two talking about?!” He looks rather displeased with the situation.

The hunter pulls out a small hand mirror, “Here you go… my lady.” The second he grabs the mirror, Hadronix runs off the rooftop and sprouts some sort of wooden and cloth pair of wings and glides off. Taking the hint, I run and leap off with my wings, and almost a second afterwards…

“GOD DAMN IT, HADRONIX!” Cole’s best friend shouts across the rooftops.

“Hey, Hadronix…” I start off as we make do with another rooftop, several away from his.

“Hm?” She hums, a smile of pure bliss on her face.

“Thanks, I needed that.” I sincerely reply.

“Not a problem.” To my shock, she actually pulls me… well, she pulls herself into a hug with me. A small sigh of relief exits her. Not wanting to ruin the mood, all I do is return the embrace.  _ ‘Despite her current good mood, something is seriously bothering her… no. I’ll worry about it later, I should just enjoy the goodwill while I can.’ _ Once again to my surprise, she actually ends up falling asleep in the hug,  _ ‘Gods, how many hours did she stay awake? Was Alden really working her that hard?’ _

I carefully lower both of us onto the rough concrete of the rooftop. However, to my reinforced scales  **and** armor, it felt like nothing, though for the hunter’s sake, I didn’t take any chances and gently positioned her on top of my body. A quick glance informs me she is already in deep sleep, her face looks so calm, so peaceful.  _ ‘She needed this.’ _ As my own eyelids start to feel heavy, I barely catch Yumigami as she lies down next to Hadronix, her faintly-glowing purple fur brushing up against the hunter.  _ ‘Ruinad must be watching over the area, then.’ _

“Sis… I’m sorry I couldn’t…” I hear her mutter as she pulls me as tightly as she can. “I shouldn’t have babied you so much…”

My heart practically breaks at the raw sorrow in her voice, the distinct lack of sarcasm or cockiness,  _ ‘The same type of hopelessness that I caught when we first arrived… and when the Blast caused her gadgets to stop working.’ _ It still greatly bothers me how vulnerable she is when this side of her shows. The Hadronix I know is headstrong, seemingly unstoppable, she’s confident in her abilities. Yet, the Hadronix that is here is gripping me as tightly as she can, who is discarding the mask of sterness, and the one softly mumbling and crying on my armor as she falls asleep.  _ ‘I suppose even the best have their moments of weakness.’ _

I fell asleep while returning the favor, pulling her closer to me.  _ ‘Sleep well, Hadronix.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that out, the update schedule will be reworked to: 'Blood and Thunder' -> 'The Beast (and Dragon) Within' -> 'Deal with the Devil'


	15. He's There... but also Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After learning the reason behind her Dragon's silence, Yasei and Hadronix fall asleep together. The Draconic Nohrian Princess wakes up before the other does, overhearing more of the Hunter's concerns, which leads to her learning more from the Pandaren.
> 
> Not much later, Cole arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.

When I wake up from my slumber I notice that Hadronix is  **still** out. Out of curiosity, I check my phone…  _ ‘We slept through the whole day… And she still needs more?’ _ Was she really being overworked that much? Well, since I don’t have any requests, I might as well keep her company.

“Don’t leave… please.” Gods, she is still muttering apologies.  _ ‘Was she doing that the whole time?’ _ Yumigami nudges my hand, then gives me a knowing look,  _ ‘Yes.’ _ She seems to state, then she nudges my hand again and I start petting her. “Ancestors…” She stirs, but doesn’t wake, still trying to pull me closer, as if the already non-existent space between us isn’t enough. “N-no… don’t.”

_ ‘This is getting bad, this is getting closer to like she is having a nightmare, rather than a moment of weakness.’ _ The second she starts openly crying, while still asleep, is the second I decide that I need to do something. “Hey, Hadronix, wake up.” I gently shake her with my other hand.

As if to punctuate my request, Yumi walks over and starts licking her face, a small giggle leaves her as she opens her eyes. “Yumi…” Then she notices how she’s positioned, her head on my stomach, and the mask of indifference returns.

“If you need to talk…” I offer, “Keeping it bottled up will make things worse.”

She frowns and finally releases her vice,  _ ‘Not that she could harm anyone with her grip…’ _ , then pushes herself away and sits up, “...I was talking in my sleep, wasn’t I?” She looks ashamed.

I nod and also get up to sit, “Yea. Before I fell asleep, it was about apologizing to Sis and ‘babying her’, and after I woke up, it was about ‘not leaving me’.”

Her mood immediately worsens and she looks ready to run away, as if I referenced her absolute worst moments. “...Remember when I told you about losing my wolf?” I nod, “After that… but before the next time I saw Raven, I tamed Ruinad and Yumigami. Granted, it was several years before we met again.” A small smile forms as she mentions taming those two, and it only grows afterwards, “Anyway, since I vowed to myself not to lose another pet, I placing my pets’ health on the highest priority… above mine.”

“That’s… pretty serious.” I comment,  _ ‘Above her own?’ _

“The vow only became stronger, I decided I would rather lose my own life before losing another pet. It sounds absurd, I know, but that is simply how hard it struck me when I lost her. It was truly the hardest blow, I literally  **couldn’t** do anything to save her… that acid was eating through her body.” The sorrow that turned to happiness earlier turns to a self-deprecating rage, “Back then, I wasn’t properly trained, I couldn’t do most of the things a Hunter should be able to do, but I went and did things beyond my abilities anyway. I just wanted to travel, to have a pet… to feel useful!”

“Hadronix…” I calmly state her name.

“I know,” She takes a breath, “Anyway, between this time the whole shitstorm with Lotus came and went, I became part of the Trueshot Lodge and my skills with Engineering were finally recognized as part of my ability of being a Hunter, so I finally received the training I’ve been desiring. Without a doubt, the most important thing I learned to do is use what little innate inner magic I have to, well…” To demonstrate, she extends a hand and concentrates on Yumigami, a forest-green glow envelopes her hand and a similar glow shrouds the beast. “Heal my pets, and if I focus on it harder, I can use that magic to cure things like diseases… or toxins.”

“That covers ‘not leaving me’.” I comment.

“After I reunited with Sis for a time, but before I found and tamed Bethy,” When she said ‘tamed’ it sounded uncertain, like she is unsure if she actually has control over that fiery demon, “I found myself developing a sort of bond with Raven… not as in lovers, but like an overly doting mother.”

I nod, “I get that, big sister Camilla is that way.” Oh, and by the gods does she make her concern known.

She seems to have not heard me, because she continues almost before I even finish, “I started doing everything I could to keep her out of fights, to make sure that she was taken care of. She never minded it, of course, since she despises fighting in the first place. In fact, she thanked me for taking care of the, uh, ‘dirty work’, so she could focus on what she loved to do, healing and helping.” She pauses as another smile forms, “So, while we worked together, we had a sort of system going on. When we came across someone in need, or a village. Sis would handle the people, cooking, healing, and just being there for them. I would hunt, forage, and take out threats, bandits, beasts, and the like.”

“That sounds efficient.” I state, “And you both get to do what you enjoy.”

“It was, but… I knew I was also doing way more than required to keep her safe. I mean, she is the first person I cared for, and it felt like she was my first wolf… so I didn’t want to lose her, either. It ended up falling under the same category of ‘I would rather die than lose her’.”

“I don’t…”

“I never told her. I never told anyone this.” She interrupts.

“I know I offered you to talk,” I trails off.

“Yasei,” She starts, “When you’re in your… ‘Human’ stance thing. I find you really easy to talk to. Like I could just spill everything about me and I wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. If I were to share my concerns, you will be there to support me… or anyone.” She pauses, “I think you would make a wonderful Queen, the type that cares for her people, but also has the resolve to fight when the need arises.”

_ ‘That’s…’ _ The sentiment caught me off-guard, “I… really?” I remember Phoenix saying that I would make a great commander, but I did sort of think she was saying that to get me to lead. Hadronix is just being her usual blunt self, but the bluntness is holding enough emotion to move me. “A Queen?” I know I’m a princess, but I never thought of being one to rule, I always thought I would remain just that, a princess.

She nods, “If I were to even be so bold, I would say you would probably be one of the best. I can easily imagine the people… your people cheering you on. How they would make celebrations over your rule, how…”

I start flushing heavily from the sincere praise, “Hadronix, please… I get it.”

She smiles proudly, “I’m just being me.”

“I know.” She squeaks as I pull her into a hug, “And it means so much to hear it from you.”

She scoffs, “Oh please, I’m just a Pandaren with limp arms and a sassy mouth.”

And there it is,  _ ‘The Hadronix I’ve come to know.’ _ I giggle as I break the embrace, “And I wouldn’t want you any other way.” I get up and offer my hand, which she gladly takes. “Because the Hadronix I know is practically a genius… who is also a huge sasshole.” As to recall the past, I look her over, specifically her backside, “Both with and without the first ‘s’.”

Finally she laughs, the tension and looming gloom since finding out about what Phoenix did to me fades. It is all replaced with a good mood, a stronger bond. “Yea, well at least I’m not ‘as flat as a wooden floorboard’.” She counters.

The good mood keeps climbing up, “Hey! Is that anyway to speak to your liege?”

She scoffs, “Like you really give a damn.” She wraps one arm around my back.

“Yea, you’re right. I’d rather have you as a friend, than a retainer.” I mirror her gesture, “Since you’re so much more fun when you are relaxed.”

She pauses, “A friend, hm?” Her face turns serious, but the good mood stays. “Alright, I suppose I will do just that, call you a friend.” She actually looks moved by the thought. “Despite all the shit that has happened… I’m glad I met you, Yasei.”

_ ‘Can I really say I have had it worse? I lost my entire home, but I still managed to push through. Hadronix lost only a dozen things, but it… no, I won’t consider that. We both had it bad, and that’s that.’ _ I nod, “I’m glad to have me you too, Hadronix.” Yumigami barks, “Yea yea, I’m glad to have met you both, Yumigami and Ruinad…” I pause, “And Raven… and Bethy, too.” I hesitantly add the demon spider as I shiver from the mere thought of her burning legs and…  _ ‘Nope.’ _

“You think Zeke has calmed down enough by now?” She moves away and looks in the direction of ‘the’ rooftop.

“Who cares?” I shrug.

She giggles, “Good point. Shall we pay him a proper visit?”

“That sounds nice.” And with that, we return to the rooftop I’ve come to consider ‘home’. A place that houses a goody-two shoes lightning rod named Cole, a laid back and easy going man named Zeke… and a cocky and recently new friend named Hadronix.  _ ‘It doesn’t just sound nice… it  _ **_is_ ** _ nice.’ _ My family’s faces flash through my mind, as does the ones I cared about… that I find myself still caring about.  _ ‘Felicia, Flora… all of them. And out of all the ones who weren’t family… Keaton.’ _ Instead of falling into a sorrowful mood, I smile at the good memories.  _ ‘It may not have turned out the way I wanted it to, but I wish them well all the same. That wherever their spirits or whatever went, that they’re at peace… happy.’ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zeke wasn’t even at the rooftop, so he’s out doing something… but considering the last time I caught him doing something,  _ ‘Still out chasing women, are you?’ _ Hadronix is currently tinkering with something,  _ ‘Gods only know what’s she doing.’ _ Yet… still nothing from Cole, it’s been a whole day now. I quickly check my phone,  _ ‘I still have a charge, no missed calls…’ _ There’s no way it would have taken that long.

Then as if to answer my concerns, the phone vibrates and I see Cole’s name grace the screen, “Hello!” I respond with maybe a bit too much enthusiasm.

“Good to hear you, too.” I pick up a chuckle from him, “Sasha gave me some trouble, and some jerk-offs took her away before I could finish her off.” He pauses, “The tunnel’s flooded out now, so I had to head into the Warren and restored a section of the city’s power, which is why it took me so long.”

“I’m… just glad to hear you’re alright.” I admit as a flush forms, “I was worried.”

“Eh, it’ll take more than some tar-lady to take me out.” I can imagine him shrugging, “Anyway, until the bridge is lowered, I’m still stuck over here.”

“Any sign of Alden?” The question pops in my head.

“Nope, nothing of Alden or that water Conduit. Doesn’t mean this place is empty though, still got his goons running around.” Another pause, “How are you all holding up?”

“Hadronix and I are better, and Zeke is out doing… something.”

Another chuckle, “Well, you sure sound better… anyway, I’m going to wrap some things up here and see if I can get this bridge lowered. Talk to you later.”

“You too.” A smile forms as the conversation ends.

“I’ll admit,” I hear Hadronix speak up, “The lack of Alden’s presence is starting to bother me.”

“How so?” I can’t imagine that happening to her.

“He didn’t seem like the type to just vanish.” She has gotten up and has walked beside me, “The way he ranted on and on about Kessler… no, he wouldn’t just leave.”

“...and you would be correct.” Within the blink of an eye, another man seemingly appears from nowhere, but with his entrance, electricity dances from him to the surrounding area. He has a white cloak like those Reaper Conduits, but I can actually see his face, old and wrinkled. Yet, there is an aura of power surrounding him, and one of his hands have been replaced with a metal one. “He’s still here.”

“Kessler, boss man.” Hadronix regards him with ire. “Come to offer me another position? Then deliver another bomb the next day?”

_ ‘He smells like… Cole?’ _ I narrow my eyes as I scan him over, “The Conduit that got my friend stolen from me.” I spit out.

He doesn’t seem to care for the accusation, “I still have use for your services, outsider.” He looks at Hadronix.

Outsider… “Sasha called me the same thing, outsider.” I speak up.

“Sasha…” For a brief moment, his eyes show nostalgia, but it is quickly replaced with a scowl, “She would know.”

“Know…?” I goad,  _ ‘Gods, his scent is like an… older Cole.’ _

“Doesn’t matter.” He blows me off. “Hadronix.”

“Hell no.” She harshly replies, “Fix this mess yourself.”

“...I didn’t even get to offer my terms.”

She sighs, “I’ve danced to this tune too many times. You come for help, plead your sob story, act like you’re all good and in the right, you get what you want, then you leave the rest to rot.” She glares at him, “I do  **not** have a heart of gold, boy. I don’t walk around helping every last person.”

He smirks,  _ ‘Like Cole…’ _ “Only the last part is wrong, girl.”

“Sure, whatever.” She rolls her eyes. “Cole would have a better…”

“Cole is the one who needs help.” He interrupts her… the proclamation is enough to cause a ripple of silence.

“Now?” I ask, perhaps a bit too quickly.

He  **glares** at me, “Not now, in the future.”

“Yasei, surely you don’t believe this…” she pauses as she remembers something, “What’s the verdict on his scent?”

“Honesty, truthfulness…” I decide against pointing out how he smells like Cole.

“Congratulations,” Hadronix dryly states, “You’ve piqued my interest, what is it?”

“Cole will have to deal with a great threat in a few years, and I am to… expedite his skills, so that he can stand a chance of winning.”

The Hunter glances at me and I nod,  _ ‘Still honest…’ _ “So you give him a package to blow up the Historic District?”

The man actually frowns, “Sacrifices are necessary, if Cole fails, then not only will those lives have been forfeit, but my work would be undone… the same fate will fall onto Earth itself.”

“You sure know a lot, don’t you? Foresight?” Hadronix, despite my assurances, is sounding doubtful, not that I blame her. “Alright, say this clearly absurd crap is real, you want me to…?”

“Do as I did, increase his powers, your insight will be valuable to giving him the edge he needs.” Another silence follows.

“...You planned this.” She starts, “All of it, but you didn’t account for Yasei and me, you claim to know future events and seem to have personal experience on the matter.” I’m lost,  _ ‘What is she getting at?’ _ She crosses her arms, “You specifically chose Cole, which is why you pestered the Post Office for him.”

“Perceptive…” The comment comes out without emotion.

I decide to announce my concern, “He has a scent like Cole, but older…”

Hadronix nods, seemingly assured by whatever she is thinking, “Carving a path through space-time is a dangerous route.” Then she crosses her arms, “You’re playing with forces that even the entire league of Experimental Gnomish Engineers would shy away from.”

He does not seem surprised, instead he chuckles… like Cole, “I knew you would have figured it out.” He glances at me, “But have you?”

_ ‘I don’t follow all of the space-time Engineering terms, but…’ _ I hesitantly nod, “You’re Cole.”

He nods, “From a future that has been destroyed by a seemingly indestructible menace. I lacked the power to defeat it, everyone died, but I managed to secure a means to…”

“The past so you could give the younger you a fighting chance.” Hadronix catches on and she pauses as she thinks it over, “Alright, fine. What are your terms, Kessler?”

“Empower Cole, and I’ll give you access to the entirety of the First Sons’ equipment,” The Hunter’s eyes light up, “All of it, if you get results, then I won’t have anymore use for it.”

Hadronix is trying to contain her excitement, “Advanced technology…” She is practically drooling from the prospect, “A means to get home… deal.” She agrees without hesitation. “My pets…”

“I will provide, I simply want results. I am offering everything I have to secure the future of this world.” He states the obvious, “Cole must succeed.” He pauses, “And, don’t tell him about this… or me.” He tells more to me, than Hadronix.

_ ‘Which means she’s being taken away… again, but at least he will tend to her needs.’ _ I nod, “I won’t tell.”

He smiles, “Well then, shall we?” He offers his metallic hand to her.

“Let’s get to work.” She nods, then smiles at me, “I’ll talk to you later, yea?”

I return a smile, though it isn’t as enthusiastic as hers, “Yea.” With that, the two seemingly disappear in a flash, electricity jumping from spot to spot from where they left. “...return safe.” I mutter.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After taking a moment to heed her Dragon's demands, Yasei gets a phone call from Moya. The woman claims she has a lead on the Ray Sphere and has the Shifter check it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> I had forgotten that I had gave the Water Conduit a few lines of speech when I first brought him in. I'm going to rework his initial appearance so it fits better.

I lean back on the couch as I reflect what happened,  _ ‘Two Coles, huh?’ _ I should be surprised, but…  _ ‘Well, Phoenix said she traveled through time, too…’ _ Phoenix. The name itself burns,  _ ‘When I get back to Nohr…’ _ The dragon roars, calling for blood,  _ ‘And I bet hers will taste exquisite… all of it.’ _ The prospect of consuming her body…  _ ‘Revenge, feast.’ _ The flesh, the blood,  _ ‘Rip, rend.’ _ All fresh… maybe even the latent magic in her will heighten the taste,  _ ‘Kill, ravage.’ _ I lick my lips in anticipation… maybe I could end her the same way as Kaden. The thought of her slowly stilling, the blood seeping straight through her neck, the life fading,  _ ‘Blood, bones.’ _

My stomach growls,  _ ‘Well… I’m sure there’s a thug or three I can devour.’ _ It growls again,  _ ‘Consume, eat.’ _ Obliging the Dragon in me, I head out to find someone. I quickly make my way through the alleyways of the Neon, looking for any type of criminal… unfortunately, due to the work Cole and I have invested, crime has plummeted, the Police have gained enough will to resume their duties, the civilians even help out. Trash is being cleared, repairs are being performed, this section of the city is starting to feel civilized once more…

Which means the chances of finding a morally evil crook plummets.  _ ‘I might…’ _ I stop that thought, I’ll keep looking, there has to be one around here… even if it’s just a purse thief. The Dragon in me growls, making its impatience known,  _ ‘Maybe…’ _ No I,  _ ‘but I can’t deny it too long,’ _ I shouldn’t…  _ ‘Just one time, just…’ _ I find myself stopping in my tracks as I think it over, the Dragon becomes more and more persistent, it’s just demanding  **a** body, a helping of meat regardless of who it’s from.  _ ‘Rend, kill.’ _

_ ‘Maybe just this once.’ _ I give in to its demands and just look for someone, I don’t care who… the Dragon doesn’t care. I weave closer to the streets, impatiently waiting for someone to slip into the alleyways. The Dragon grows more impatient, it’s becoming harder to think straight, then someone does come. The man has a trash bag, he tosses inside a dumpster and I make my move. I cover his mouth first, before effortlessly pulling him out of potential sight. “I’m sorry, but…” Gods, what a pitiful excuse.  _ ‘Sorry for what? Obliging my Dragon? What will…’ _ I shake my head as I pin him to a wall, his struggles amount to nothing.  _ ‘Feast, blood.’ _ I cover his eyes and hold his head up, “Sh…” I coo as my sharpened teeth sink into his neck.

_ ‘Gods, fresh blood…’ _ Performing the same act as with Kaden, I suck it down as his struggles slowly stop, however unlike with Kaden, my body doesn’t heat up…  _ ‘I can’t give birth…’ _ I push the thought away as I take my first bite, then rip the clothes off as I continue.  _ ‘More.’ _ I rip into more of the flesh, the muscles, anything and everything, yet it doesn’t feel like enough.  _ ‘More!’ _ I greedily strip the bones clean… fat, organs, muscle, it doesn’t matter.  _ ‘Meat, kill.’ _ Still the Dragon calls for more and as I am already lost in the haze, I do just that.  _ ‘Just one more…’ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A pile of skeletons remain, all carelessly shoved into that same dumpster. I take a deep breath and wipe the blood off of my mouth the best I can.  _ ‘So… delicious.’ _ With my Dragon sated once more, I make my way towards the next destination, the Warren, since, unlike Cole, I can make it across. I look across the river, and as he said, only a portion of the lights are on… excluding the bolts of lightning that occasionally lights up the sky.  _ ‘Well, I know where he is…’ _ I take a running start and leap with my wings, before summoning my lance and piercing some of the metal on the bridge with it, I swing and repeat until I’m on the other side.  _ ‘Gods, it smells so much worse…’ _

Unlike with the Neon, the Warren is just filled with trash,  _ ‘Well, at least the Neon had some semblance of order… here?’ _ I gag as I force my senses down just to tolerate the smell.  _ ‘Now then, I…’ _ I pause as my phone rings,  _ ‘I swear, if it’s…’ _ “Hello?” I force a happy tone.

“Good, you’ve reached the Warren.” Yep… Moya. “I have a lead I want you to follow.” And as per usual, the gps beeps and she hangs up.  _ ‘Gods…’ _ Shaking my head, I go towards the destination… away from the artificial lightning. The GPS guides me to a darkened portion of the city,  _ ‘Why?’ _ Sighing in resignation, I leap and make my way to a rooftop and continue my trek towards whatever the hell she wants me to do.  _ ‘It’s like she doesn’t care about me…’ _ Not that it bothers me.

“Hurry, move it!” I am broken from my thoughts as I pick up a voice, I brace myself for the smell as I hone my senses again,  _ ‘At least it’s manageable up here…’ _ I look over the rooftop to see a half-dozen people in garbage gear,  _ ‘Alden’s men.’ _ They are hauling something onto a flatbed truck, on one end of the truck, there is a mounted machine gun. The truck itself is guarded by no less than five of their goons, all with decidedly better than average guns.  _ ‘Must be important.’ _ The object in question is covered in a tarp, it looks like a ball on a pedestal, but beyond that, I don’t know…

“The Ray Sphere.” I feel a metal hand clamp around my mouth before I could squeak.  _ ‘Wait, metal? Kessler?’ _ “So, Moya led you here, hm? Keep quiet.” He slowly removes his hand.

“I’m not breaching…” I quietly start.

“I know, though I find it strange that she knows.”

“She told me it was a lead.” I admit,  _ ‘I honestly rather trust Kessler with my life than Moya… I mean, Kessler  _ **_is_ ** _ Cole.’ _

He shrugs it off, “Lucky guess, then.” He pauses.

“If you’re here…”

“I need that.” He finishes.

“You obviously are strong enough…” A quiet chuckle stops me. “What?”

“I’m not all-powerful, Yasei. Conduits have their limits and that kind of firepower,” He gestures towards the truck, which is being drove at a painfully slow speed, “Is way beyond my limit… any Conduit’s limit, in fact. The amount of bullets received will make the healing factor a joke.”

“So, what you’re asking is…?” Don’t tell me he wants  **me** to kill them all…

“I will distract them, you grab the Ray Sphere and head to these coordinates…” Like with Cole, he uses his phone without his hands, and soon my phone buzzes… with Cole’s name.  _ ‘Oh, that’s going to get confusing. Oh well, at least he is willing to provide more than ‘Go here and get stuff done’.’ _

I nod in confirmation. “On you.” He counts down from five as he raises both arms skyward,  _ ‘I have no idea what he’s…’ _ My thoughts are interrupted as an absurd amount of electricity starts to be channeled into him from the sky, and out of reflex I get off the roof. No more than three seconds later, bolts of lightning start striking the area, yet despite the sheer intensity of the bolts, it takes about five strikes to actually destroy the truck. I made my way just as it explodes, the Ray Sphere seemingly unharmed. The Garbage Men focus their fire on Kessler and he takes about five seconds of bullets before fleeing and by then, I’m already out of the area and on my way to the rendezvous point…

And I don’t stop until I get there, “Good job, Yasei.” Wow, he looks pretty beat up.  _ ‘He wasn’t kidding,’ _ dozens of small holes are peppered across his body, yet right before my eyes, they slowly close, one by one. “It shouldn’t have taken that long… the rip in space-time must have weakened me…” And now he is talking way above my level. Shrugging my shoulders, I offer him the tarp-covered Ray Sphere. “Thank you.” In that moment, he sounded just like Cole. “I will have this delivered to Hadronix a.s.a.p.”

“You’re welcome.” I pause and before he leaves, “How is she?”

He smiles, “She and her pets are being well taken care of…” A comfortable silence falls for a few moments, “I don’t know how you two got here, but I’m thankful… Hadronix’s insight is extremely valuable while both you and Cole are clearing the city far faster than he could alone.” Several emotions come and go, “It pains me to see Empire City in the same destroyed state twice, but this needs to happen.”

_ ‘He does look regretful…’ _ I nod, “I won’t keep you, then… good luck.” With that, he vanishes with that same spark of electricity.  _ ‘Now, what am I going to tell that bossy woman?’ _ Gods know how much she annoys me.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While I am waiting for the inevitable phone call from Moya, I decide to fill in the time with a few requests from the few civilians bold enough to venture out of their homes, it’s more of the same. A few hostages, strike squads, all things Cole and I have done before. Thankfully, there’s nothing about armored buses or that tar problem.  _ ‘Still, Cole said Sasha was taken away before he could finish her off.’ _ Right now though, I am escorting this wounded Police Officer to the only clinic available in the Warren, the doctor who runs it was saved by Cole.

“You and the Electric Man are nothing less than gifts from God.” He comments at one point.

_ ‘Gods, Electric Man… and I’m Dragon Girl.’ _ I resist the urge to roll my eyes at the horrid nicknames. “We’re just doing what we can.” I gently decline the generous praise.

“Still, morale has shot up through the roof thanks to you two. Things were looking so hopeless.” I glance over to see a smile on the man, an honest smile, even in the current situation.

“Well, your we…” I pause midword, “Down.” Thanks to his training, he doesn’t question why, a stream of water would have pierced his body otherwise. “Hide.” I state, “Bullets won’t hurt this guy.” In front of us is none other than that Water Conduit, his form as translucent as the first time. He tilts his head as his gaze seems to lock on me, completely uninterested in my escort. “Hi.” I attempt to at least get him to talk.

He doesn’t immediately attack, but he doesn’t seem to want to respond, either. “...h i?” He finally speaks, yet instead of saying the word, he spells it out.

I can’t catch any scents, but his face shows a sort of disturbance, “My name is Yasei, what’s yours?” If I can at least get on his good side…

“N a m e?” He still speaks one letter at a time, like he is incapable of anything else. He looks his form over, “Y a s e i.”

I tilt my head, “That’s my name, yes.”

But he points at himself and proclaims it again, “Y a s e i.” Then, before my eyes, his form shifts into… me. It still holds the watery appearance, and the color stays that ocean-blue, but as for the shape itself? Me.

I hold back a sigh,  _ ‘Perhaps the blast did some brain damage to him.’  _ I keep a smile on, “Why did you attack me earlier? If you are willing to talk?”

He scrunches his watery eyebrows, “C o n f u s e d.” He shakes his head in frustration, “L o s t.” He shakes his head again, as if he can’t find the right word.

Well, at least he is capable of understanding, but his speech is so off, “Don’t worry about it, actually. But, are you going to attack again? Me that is.”

“N o.” I breathe a sigh of relief. His form shifts back to the appearance it held earlier, “C o n t r o l.” He spells out, but seems angry when doing so.

_ ‘Cole said he was frustrated when he was first…’ _ “Are you unable to properly control your powers?” I catch on.

He quickly nods, “C a n ‘ t.” He pauses, “C a u s e s, p a i n.” Well, that’s an improvement, he manages to spell two words in a row.

“I’m no Conduit myself, but I know one who can control his, maybe he can give you some tips… if you would like?” I offer.  _ ‘Another one on our side would help.’ _

“T i p s?” He echoes, “W a n t, C o n t r o l.” He eventually nods.

I smile, “Alright, just let me finish escorting this Police Officer, and I’ll bring you to him, okay?” He nods again. “Okay, you can come out, he’s friendly.” The Police Officer slowly returns to my side, clearly unsure.

“F r i e n d l y.” Poor guy, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to be unable to properly talk.  _ ‘First things first, the Clinic, then get a hold of Cole.’ _


	17. Mockingbird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, World of Warcraft, or inFamous.
> 
> Ah, making a new name... my ultimate weakness, because I refuse to use a random name generator.

With the Police officer under the doctor’s care, a phone call, and Cole being on his way, I am waiting it out with the water Conduit in a side alley, next to a parking lot. Until we can get him a few deeds in, I think it would be best to keep him out of the public eye. “So, do you remember your name?” I attempt again.

“F o r g o t.” He repeats, just like the last time I asked, he then points at me, “Y a s e i.”

I nod and mirror his gesture, “How about Lucas?”  _ ‘Not the best choice, but it’s better than him proclaiming he is Yasei… me.’ _

He points back at himself, “L u c a s?”

I nod, “Yes, Lucas… at least until you remember your own name.”

“L u c a s.” He repeats, his finger still on him, then he nods, “I, a m, L u c a s.”

I start beaming, “Good… that’s your first full sentence. See? You’re already improving.”

He startles, as if he didn’t even realize it. “T h a n k, y o u, Y a s e i.”

“You’re welcome, Lucas.” I nod,  _ ‘But by the gods it’s somehow tiring to listen.’ _ A few moments pass and Cole drops from high.

“Been a while.” He comments as he nods at me, then tenses at the other Conduit.

The water Conduit also tenses, “Hold on.” I interrupt, “We’re on the same side, here. Cole, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Cole.”

“C o l e.” Lucas spells out, then points at himself, “L u c a s.”

The electric Conduit spares a glance at me, “He is having trouble properly talking, but he can understand us just fine.” I explain.

Cole nods, “Ah… Good to meet you, Lucas. I’ll admit, it’s nice to see you’re willing to talk, God knows I have enough people trying to kill me as is.”

He frowns, “S o r r y, N o t, u s e d, t o, p o w e r s, c a u s e s, p a i n.”

I raise an eyebrow at the rather lengthy sentence,  _ ‘At least he’s learning.’ _ Cole crosses his arms and nods, “Yea, I get that. I was the same way when I first got mine.” He rubs the back of his head, “I’m not sure how much I can help, Lucas, but I’ll do what I can.” He pauses, “Just… we need to make sure we don’t touch each other.”

He seems to catch on, “W a t e r, h u r t s, e l e c t r i c i t y.” He pauses, “E l e c t r i c i t y, h u r t s, w a t e r.” He levels a determined look, “R e a d y, C o l e.”

Cole glances at me, “I got this, Yasei… feel free to do something else.”

I nod, “Good luck, Lucas.”

He smiles, “T h a n k, y o u, Yasei.” I startle as he actually says a word, rather than spelling it. He too, seems just as surprised and his smile doubles, “Yasei.”

I return the smile, “I’ll see you later.” With that, I leap up and get on a roof, then pull out… I sigh as it rings, “Yes?”

“You went dark, what happened?” Great… Moya.

“The lead was false. All I saw was a flatbed truck with a turret on it.” I recite my lie.

“Damn it.” She sighs, “The Ray Sphere was supposed to be there…”

_ ‘Supposed to…’ _ I shake my head, “Anything else you need me to do?” I decide to get this part over with.

“No.” And just like that, she ends the conversation.

I sigh in aggravation,  _ ‘Gods, she’s so…’ _ it rings  **again** , “Hello?” I try to keep my voice from sounding annoyed.

“Yasei?” Oh good, it’s Trish.

“It’s good to hear from you, it’s been a while.” I smile.

“And you too… I was unable to get through to your phone for a while.” She pauses, “There’s a problem in the Neon.”

“A big one, I assume?”

“The Reapers are still spreading that tar, and I can’t control the sickness.”

_ ‘Sasha…’ _ I nod, “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My draconic abilities have been improving since this whole Blast mess, considering the extended use they’ve seen. I swear my lance goes further, the energy spheres are larger and faster, the maw is bigger, the lift from my wings is higher, and the armor that forms is much more resilient.  _ ‘Which I am so thankful for.’ _ As such, I reach destinations much faster, while tasks are being done faster and more efficiently, which leads me being able to do more jobs in a day… and that means the city gets cleared out and safer quicker.

So now I am already on the third tar barrel, with the small squad of Reapers that have been guarding it lie dead.  _ ‘Still doesn’t make this part any more pleasant… even with my armor.’ _ Forming my head armor, I snap the container open, making sure it lands on me and not onto the roof.  _ ‘I tried to carefully remove it so I could take it down to street level and burst it inside a dumpster without worrying about it affecting anyone, but there is some sort of device that causes it to explode when it is removed…’ _ And  **that** earned me a rather intense scolding from Trish, which I immediately apologized and assured her that I both didn’t know, and was seeing if I could perform a safer method for everyone.

Though it seems the only way to make sure it doesn’t hurt the civilians is to take the hit myself.  _ ‘It’s what Cole would do… probably even Kessler.’ _ So, now I am covered with the third and last helping of tar… at least Sasha is leaving my thoughts alone. I pull out my phone, making doubly sure no tar hits it, “Trish? That’s the last one.”

“Thank you, Yasei.” I can hear the pure joy in her voice. “That takes a huge load off of my work.” A pause, “Would you care to have dinner later?”

My stomach growls and she must have been able to hear it, because a giggle soon follows, “Yes please.” I smile, “Just give me some time for this tar to clear up.”

“I have…”

“Save it for the people, Trish.” I knew she was going to offer that can. “I can take the sluggishness and pain, but the people can’t.”

She sighs, “You and Cole are the textbook definitions of Heroes. I’ll see you soon.”

After the call ends, I breathe a sigh of relief,  _ ‘At least my desire for raw meat hasn’t been exposed.’ _ I shiver at the thought of anyone else finding out.  _ ‘Now then…’ _ I check my phone for nearby work, anything to pass…  _ ‘Godsdamnit Zeke.’ _ I pause as I contemplate actually going. I doubt he needs any actual help,  _ ‘But what if he does?’ _ Sighing in resignation, I go check on him, just in case.

Within a few minutes, I am on a rooftop near him,  _ ‘Yep, just standing there… unharmed, unconcerned…’ _ Rolling my eyes, I turn to leave.  _ ‘He’s probably waiting for Cole to get to him, anyway.’ _ Yet, I didn’t even a chance to leap off the rooftop when the phone rings,  _ ‘Thinking of Cole…’ _ , “Hello?”

“Hey.” Came his voice, slightly annoyed.

“Is everything going well with Lucas?” Is the first thing to pop in my mind.

“He’s doing well, I think he’s learning faster than me.” He pauses, “Zeke keeps calling me…”

“For help, I assume? I assure you Cole, he is standing within eyesight, unharmed.” I sigh. “He is far away from the few crime-ridden areas left and there isn’t a single threat in  **my** sight.”

He chuckles, “I thought so.” I can imagine him shaking his head, “Alright, when he calls again, I’ll make sure he is aware that he is lying.”

“Aren’t you stuck over there, anyway?” I ask, “You still need the bridge to be lowered.”

“I… might have a new power or two.” I can practically see the smirk on his face, “I got to handle a few more things, and I’ll be over there.”

An idea pops in my head, “Mind joining me for dinner, if you can?”

“Sure. Talk to you later.”

“You too.” Well then,  _ ‘I got a surprise for you, Trish.’ _ I smile as I slowly make my way towards the dinner spot marked on my phone,  _ ‘This GPS is a gift from the gods…’ _

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The restaurants are looking a whole lot better, sure there might not be much selection on food, but at least the place is cleaned up.  _ ‘And the food doesn’t smell so wretched.’ _ The second I enter, however, “Hey! It’s the Dragon Girl!” I have a small smile as the people in the restaurant immediately brighten at my arrival…

Then the requests for pictures and autographs come in wave after wave. “Hey…” I start off after the tenth one or so, “I’ll gladly do this… after I eat, alright?” I offer, a few grumble, but they ultimately back off.  _ ‘I’m still have basic needs too, guys…’ _ With that, I take my seat, Trish enters soon after.

“How’s the popularity getting to you?” She wryly smiles, “I heard them from a street over.”

“A little overwhelming.” I admit, “It is nice, though.”  _ “They fear you.”  _ Phoenix’s words echo,  _ ‘Not anymore.’ _ “How are you?”

“I’ve managed to get some sleep in, so wonderful.” I can still see some bags under her eyes, but she does look better than last time. “I can’t thank you two enough.”

“Not a problem.” Cole’s voice pops in a few moments later.

“It’s the Electric Man!” The crowd’s enthusiasm is renewed, I smile as Cole gets overwhelmed with the same requests… and the same plea for a few moments to eat.

“You’re here, too? I thought you were stuck in the Warren?” Trish asks.

“I can glide… sort of.” He states, “It’s not much, but adding that with grinding on wires, and I can get some good distance, more than enough to get me from the Warren to the Neon.” Her response is a simple smile. “The Neon’s almost cleared up, yea?” He turns to me.

“Just about, there’s the portion near the bridge to the Historic District.” Now that I think about it, that’s really it. “In a week we managed to calm all the violence in the entire Neon.” It sounds unreal,  _ ‘I still remember when it seemed impossible, with the amount of crimes…’ _

“And that will spread to the rest of Empire City in a few weeks.” Cole nods. “Then we can celebrate.”

I barely manage to keep myself from tensing,  _ “I need Cole prepared for the future.” _ Kessler’s warning rings out.  _ ‘And he has a second Ray Sphere… the thing that apparently caused all of this… can the city really handle another Blast? Is this a mistake?’ _

I am broken out of my thoughts by the food being served, it essentially looks like the same soup as last time, but it lacks any sort of foul-smells. “Is this the same…?” I start.

“Same restaurant as last time we got together.” Trish nods.  _ ‘Wow, I didn’t even recognize it…’ _ “That’s how much of a difference you two are making. People have been going around, cleaning up, and offering help.” She pauses, “So, where’s Hadronix, I’d think she’d be with you?”

Oh great,  _ ‘I didn’t really prepare for that question.’ _ I take a sip of the soup as a means to think, “She told me Alden had basically disappeared, so she’s using his resources to make more stuff.” I nod to myself, “Trust me, she can easily lose track of time when working.”

That lie seems to have went over well… if Cole didn’t raise an eyebrow, but he ultimately stays quiet. “Well, the next time you get a chance, give her my thanks on the improved formula for the tar spray.” The doctor smiles, “It not only removes it quicker, but also increases the person’s resistance to it.”

“Hadronix does seem to carry some pretty unique stuff,” He smirks at me, “Like being able to shove a sword in a coin pouch.”

Recalling the time I asked her to explain it… “Would you like the short answer or the long explanation on how it works?” I ask.

“I doubt I can follow the words, so short.”

“Magic.” I reply with a smile.

Trish rolls her eyes, but smiles regardless, “If you told me it was magic before all of this, I would have been doubtful at best, but now? I’ll accept it.”

Cole shrugs, but goes against asking for the ‘long’ explanation,  _ ‘Aw…’ _ I retain a sigh as we resume our meals, occasionally bringing up whatever comes to mind.  _ ‘I’m starting to like it here… but, I wonder how things are going in Nohr? Hoshido? My family?’ _ I push the incoming sadness away, I can’t drop my mood now, not with friends around.  _ ‘Friends…’ _ I smile at the thought.


	18. Freedom!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, Alden has turned himself in to the police. Cole is understandably suspicious, so he and Yasei go over there to assist the Police.
> 
> Yasei ends up coming across yet another Conduit, one who entices her Dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem Fates, inFamous, or World of Warcraft.

There hasn’t been any word from Kessler, Hadronix, or her pets since she agreed to help him.  _ ‘I hope she’s alright…’ _ I know I’m not, and I can only use the ‘workshop’ excuse for so long. Still, with her brilliance, it shouldn’t take her  **that** long. Cole has thankfully not pried into it all, probably out of courtesy,  _ ‘He really is too good to everyone.’ _

Thinking of him, he climbs up to ‘the’ rooftop as I am pushing my abilities harder. “Alden’s been spotted.” Is the first thing to come out of his mouth.

I stop mid-lance and turn to him, “Where?” I’m surprised he didn’t call me… he must’ve been near.

He furrows his brows, “He… turned himself in to the Police. I got a bad feeling about it.” He states.

I nod, “That doesn’t sound right, shall we?”

He too, nods, “Yea, we’re going over to the Warren.” With that said, he leads the way and I follow close behind. I notice after he jumped that he put his hands out and with a sort of small ball of electricity, slowed his fall,  _ ‘Huh…’ _ Afterwards he landed on a wire and started  **speeding** up.

“HEY!” After registering what happened, I quickly increase my own speed, taking longer jumps and glides, and at one point during the trip, I saw him flash me a smile.  _ ‘I see what you’re getting at, Cole.’ _ Still, I oblige the unspoken challenge all the same.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite his reliance on power lines, Cole ended up making it to the large prison first, with a smirk on his face, “What took you?” He raises an eyebrow as I land moments after.

“You… just caught me off-guard.” I put out a pitiful excuse, yet soon a smile forms and I start giggling.

“Yea, sure.” He states while we walk in, “Hey! I heard Alden turned himself in?” He asked the first Police Officer we encounter.

“The Electric Man and the Dragon Girl.” I internally cringe at the nickname, even if pure admiration flows from his body, “Yes, we have him kept in a state of unconsciousness, but we need to move him over to the main prison in Empire City.”

“Why not just keep him sedated?” I ask.

“It’s too expensive.” He simply replies, “Trust me, I would love to not risk moving him, but we’ll lose both money and electricity if we keep him like this.”

_ ‘Hadronix would have a way…’ _ I refrain from sighing out loud… “A shame Hadronix isn’t here.” Cole voices my thoughts, but ultimately shrugs, “So, what do you need us to do?”

The Police Officer smiles, “It will take time to properly set up the requirements to move him, so I would like to ask for your help to protect the area,”

“In case his goons come in?” I ask, “But, what does turning himself in, then getting back out do for him?” No, there has to be something else.  _ ‘Like what?’ _

“We… have someone else incapacitated as well, but unlike him, she’s far more manageable, barely a dent in the power supply. She doesn’t even have powers, she’s a serial killer we manage to re-capture since the Blast.” He admits. “Other than that, I’m as clueless as you.” He glances at Cole, “By the way, a man called Zeke is overlooking Alden.”

With that, the electric Conduit sighs, “As long as he doesn’t try anything…” He gives the man a look, “Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a liability, but… he feels bothered from not having powers.”

He nods, “Very well, with that said, good luck. I’ll make sure things are set up as quickly as possible.”

“I suppose we should take point?” I offer, “Though, it’s a shame Lucas can’t help us.”

“He shows up when he feels like it,” Cole has a frown, “The Blast really screwed his mind up.” I nod in response and we depart, each taking the two entrances,  _ ‘And now we wait…’ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s sort of dull, not that I’m complaining.  _ ‘It’s better than constantly fighting off waves of Alden’s minions.’ _ Still, it only adds to the uneasy feeling I’m getting from all of this, like there will be one huge attack, rather than small waves. Picking up on Cole’s scent, I can tell he is feeling the same way. I spare a glance at the Conduit, who, despite the seriousness of the situation, looks like he is relaxing during his watch.  _ ‘He deserves every second of rest he can get…’ _

Then my phone rings,  _ ‘Gods, not now Moya…’ _ Yet, when I look at the caller,  _ ‘Cole?’ _ I steal a glance,  _ ‘Nope, still sitting there.’ _ Oh, Kessler… “This better be important.” I harshly whisper, “We’re…”

“Watching over Alden, I know.” He interrupts in that gruff voice. “Listen girl, whatever happens, don’t let that woman in there escape. Unlike Alden, she will kill.”

“She doesn’t have…” I start, yet he coughs and interrupts me again.

“She most certainly does. I need to go.” With that, it ends just as quickly.  _ ‘I don’t even know where she’s being held, specifically. Surely they wouldn’t keep her in the same room…’ _ Should I leave my post, then? No… what would Cole say? Or the Police Officer? And I can’t just say I know she has powers, that will just attract suspicion, too.  _ ‘I got lucky with lying so far, but that’s because I have had time to think of a reasonable one…’ _ I choose to stay put and hope for the best.

Several minutes pass in silence and I can finally pick up a vehicle driving this way,  _ ‘Finally…’ _ Yet, that is the exact moment when things went down. “We got company!” I hear Cole shout from his side, I was about to join him, but my side also got its fair share of trash-garbed men. I ready my lance and maw, then jump in, piercing one of them. My lance sticks into the ground and I swing my body, kicking two of them with enough force to knock them back, then I retract it, the momentum is enough to knock a third one out.

I growl as several bullets impact the armor, not enough to pierce, but more than enough to hurt, I unsheathe my sword and ready a sphere. The sphere goes out first, the same blood-red color as always, but larger and faster, the sphere eats up the bullets it comes in contact with, before slamming into one of the goons. I point my sword, tip-first, at another, then press the button near the hilt and impale him with a crossbow bolt.  _ ‘These guys are more a nuisance than anything else.’ _ The guns are too weak to pierce my armor, all I can feel is the impact… and that’s when another shows up…

The kind who can control the garbage to form a huge suit of armor. He slowly strides in, each step causing the ground to shake, taking a breath, I charge. He seems to ignore me,  _ ‘Big mista…’ _ I pause mid-thought as my lance is unable to pierce the suit, I snap my maw around part…  _ ‘Nope, still not enough.’ _ Gods… what kind of garbage is this? Even the sword barely makes a dent.  _ ‘Fine then.’ _ I take a moment to shift, my Dragonstone glows brightly.

It’s enough to draw his attention,  _ ‘Good, I must be an actual threat now.’ _ I rear my horns and manage to pierce some of the armor, as well as ripping some out of the monster. He summons a ball of debris and launches it my way, I barely could move fast enough to evade,  _ ‘I’m lacking practice in this form… I’ve been relying on my human form too much.’ _ Still, it bothers me that even extended use of the draconic lance and maw, I was unable to damage this thing. Shaking my head, I charge again, before stepping back when it attempts to slam me with a fist. I then ready a stream of water and shoot it, it easily rips straight through, but I miss the man by mere inches.  _ ‘That could have been it right there.’ _

It readies another debris ball, this one is several times larger than the last,  _ ‘Gods, where did he get all that?’ _ However, before he had a chance to launch it, the man produces a metal spike from his chest. The armor crumbles without the Conduit maintaining it and he falls down, lifeless. For a moment I thought it was Hadronix again, but the scent I pick up is nothing less than murderous… cold, uncaring. A woman walks up and removes the blade, a sword, from his chest. Her body is rather… large in the right areas,  _ ‘Gods, even a woman with such killer intent has a better body than me…’ _

But her face is another story, it’s as unmoving and blank as the murderous aura she has about her, and without a second’s hesitation, she charges at a blinding speed, her sword cuts through one of the garbage goons… but it seems like it just passes through him, considering his body is still in place. Then she kicks the torso and it simply slides off. The remaining garbage men decide the woman is a greater threat and fire their guns at her. She moves with that lightning-fast speed, able to simply deflect their shots with the flat side of her blade,  _ ‘Is her power just a speed boost?’ _ It seems likely, since one second she is standing there, and the next blood sprays into the air as she slices another, but this time his body practically pops…

Then she smiles, it’s unnerving to say the least. Well, it would be unnerving to the average person, but me? I’m entranced by the savagery and more greatly, the blood. My Dragon roars a challenge and I shift back, she doesn’t even spare a glance as her blade tears another goon into ribbons, her slices come out so fast that the man was in no less several dozens pieces before the first even hits the ground.  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _ I respond to her brutality with my own, I use the sword to slice one’s legs off, then I snap my maw around his chest, causing the life-fluid to drench my maw.

I catch her raising an eyebrow, then she slices into another, though unlike before, the slices seem to ignite the air with pure speed. One slash sets the man ablaze, yet it didn’t actually cut into him, she seems content to watch him as he screams in agony, the fire proving to be a more painful death than any sword strike. She raises her eyebrow again at me,  _ ‘Oh, she wants a challenge? Who gets the best kill?’ _

Considering how she dealt with the last one, I assume she wants it to be as painful as possible, she seems to desire the screams, rather than the blood. One garbage man stands, and the woman patiently waits to see how I deal with him, the gun shakes in his hands. I nod to myself as I charge him, two slices from my sword removes his hands, a yelp of pain follows as he looks at me with terrified eyes. I snap my maw around his legs, removing them just as painfully, another scream. I then summon my lance to replace the maw and pierce his chest, but away from his heart.  _ ‘You’re not dying just yet.’ _ I use my sword once more to remove the rest of his arms, the man now lies without limbs on the ground, his throat must have already dried out from the screams. With his voice gone, I opt to simply crush his skull. I place my bare foot on his, then channeling my Dragon, I stomp with enough force to crack it, sending the contents of his skull flying out.

The woman giggles, then starts laughing, I squeak in surprise as she tackles me to the ground, “You’re good.” Her voice comes out as sultry as her appearance suggests,  _ ‘Even more so with the blood splatters.’ _ Some might consider it disgusting, but I see it as nothing less than alluring. “What’s your name, killer?”

“Yasei.” I easily reply as her breasts seem to bounce with every slight movement.  _ ‘It’s a little too close for my liking…’ _ “Yours?”

“Hm…” She starts. “I don’t really care to have a name.” She shrugs, “Never needed one.”

I take a breath as her face approaches mine, clearly interested in my… different looks. I decide to change the subject, “You prefer the screams of pain? Rather than the blood?”

The smile returns and I feel myself blush under her gaze, “That’s right. Though the blood is a nice bonus.” She pauses, “Alright Yasei, you’ve piqued my interest… I suppose I will let you live.” She finally removes herself off of my body, sheathing her sword. “ **If** you join me in some fun later.”

Her voice has a sort of deadly undertone to it, but it makes it all the more entrancing, “Will there be blood?” I eagerly ask.

“Of course, blood and screams. Flesh being ripped, bones being broken.” She starts to list off as her eyes lighten up, she looks more like a child getting excited over candy, rather than a woman relishing in murder, “The way the life drains from their eyes…” She sighs in contentment, “I’ll see you later.” She runs off in that same blinding speed, even I have trouble keeping track. One thing is for certain though…  _ ‘I like her. My Dragon likes her.’ _


	19. A Date With Death

Cole was… understandably upset when I returned with a layer of blood on me,  _ ‘And Kessler told me to make sure she is contained…’ _ I pause,  _ ‘My Dragon has been craving release and she’s the perfect excuse.’ _ Regardless, now both the woman and Alden are free, though the intent on getting himself arrested is still unclear, since he showed no interest in the woman. I glance over at Cole, who has remained silent on our trip back to The Rooftop,  _ ‘I took advantage of the showers the prison offered to wash the enticing smell of blood off of me.’ _ I shiver from the recent bloodbath,  _ ‘Kill, rend.’ _

“Yo, Cole! Yasei!” Zeke had returned before us, though that was mainly because of whatever the Police told Cole and my shower. “We’ll get ‘em back.” He tries to assure us.

_ ‘Maybe I don’t want the woman captured,’ _ I keep my thoughts to myself. Cole sighs, “Just… make sure you keep yourself safe, alright? We’re dealing with some powerful shit here, Zeke.”

Though his concern seems to have the opposite of the intended effect, “Man, I’ll be fine, it’s not like I’m fighting them head-on or anything like that.” He sounds more annoyed than anything. “Hey Yasei, this woman, what is she like?”

I hesitate,  _ ‘Captivating, savage, bloodthirsty, powerful… the things I would look for in a mate.’ _ I pull myself from my thoughts, “She wields a sword and looks very attractive.” My face flushes slightly as I recall how close she was, that despite the cold murder in her eyes mere seconds before, the way they lit up at the prospect of death… “Her power seems to be just enhanced speed.” Faster than Kessler’s, probably.

“How fast are we talking about?” Cole requests.

“Fast enough that I have a hard time keeping up.” Or perhaps I was distracted, I feel my body warm up,  _ ‘Claim.’ _ It’s all I can do, since there is no mating left.

“Damn.” He pauses, “We’re gonna need a plan for her… where’s Hadronix when you need her?”

Zeke looks between us all, “I can probably think of something.” He offers.

“Something is be…” He stops as his phone rings, “Hello.” I can tell in the pure exasperation in his voice that it’s Moya. “Alright, yea, I’ll be there.” He shakes his head, “I got to go.” He heads off back towards the Warren.

“I can’t wait ‘till we’re done with that Moya chick.” Zeke sighs, “She’s working Cole to the ground.”

“I agree.” I nod, “She’s nothing less than annoying.” I hesitate before continuing, “Anyway, I have to get going as well, I promised I would return to the Police later.” With that weak excuse out of the way, I leave before he responds.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The woman never told me where she wanted to meet up at, but when I picked up the screams of pain, I knew I was in the right area. I ended up in a parking lot, where she was slowly carving into a garbage man, a wicked smile on her face,  _ ‘She does this for sexual pleasure, too… considering her scent.’ _ She giggles as he continues as his voice slowly becomes more hoarse, “Come on, I want to hear  **more** !” Once again, I find myself entranced, a combination of the woman’s beauty and the heavy scent of blood in the area. “I said  **scream** !” The man seems unable to produce any more sound. “ **Scream** !” She yells as she starts carelessly stabbing him, but now all he can do is spit up blood. “Useless.” She discards him, the man is somehow still alive, if barely.

“Beautiful.” I absentmindedly comment as I approach the man, who is still clinging on to life. I then take the man by the head and pull him up, he is unable to resist. With such a thick scent of blood, I let my Dragon take over and rip into his skin with my teeth,  _ ‘And so delicious.’ _ Blood spatters as I start tearing greedily into his body,  _ ‘More.’ _ Within moments I’ve had my fill, and I look up to see her smiling viciously at me.

“I wouldn’t mind learning to do that.” She states, “I wonder how much I could get out of them if I could eat them…” Now she seems captivated by me.

“We could get an example?” I immediately offer. “I’m still hungry.”

She looks at the man, whose chest has all but ripped out, his ribs are showing, and his heart is the only organ missing, “You must have quite the appetite.”

I smile, “You have no idea…” I start to close the distance, “I wouldn’t mind sharing a kill with you… if you can handle raw meat.”

She licks her lips, “Share a kill, hm? Alright killer, we’ll do just that.” With that, I lead the way, using my enhanced senses to pick up the trail of one of the many goons. “What else can you do?” She still sounds more like a child with her curiosity.

“A number of things.” I keep it vague, “Though I don’t mind showing you.” We approach a spot where there is a small patrol, “Shall we?” I flash my sharpened teeth at her, and her response is cutting one down, she is so fast that she managed to close the distance just like that. I charge soon after, only to be left with one. “You’re a bit too fast.” I try to humor her.

Several sword slashes efficiently cut off the man’s garbage armor. “Whoops.” She shrugs it off, “Now, about the killing?”

“This is more for the blood, rather than screams, but…” The man seems frozen in terror. “Hey.” He startles as I get within his space, then pin him to the ground. “Nothing better than fresh blood, right?” I state as I sink my teeth into his neck, relishing in the addicting taste,  _ ‘More.’ _

“Looking more like a vampire, Yasei.” She calmly comments, then I rip out a chunk of his neck, “Ooo…” She approaches me, seemingly curious about how I can handle it. “This is my first time trying…”

“Don’t think about it.” I offer the same advice Keaton did as I rip another but smaller piece out. I then offer it to her… hanging on the edge of my mouth.

“And now you’re feeding me?” She seems humored more than anything, “Well, considering we share some of the same interests…” She approaches me and opens her mouth, I slide the meat into her… but before landing a kiss as we part. Her face flushes as she downs the meat. “Sneaky.” Within the blink of an eye, she slices off a piece with her sword, then she too, puts it in her mouth and approaches me.

“I like you.” I comment as I let her slide the meat into my own mouth… and she too, lands a kiss as we part.

“We just met.” She states, “And this is the first date.”

“Your point?” I counter, “I work off of the more basic animal desires, and you…” I look her over, “are nothing less than attractive.” I lick some blood off of my mouth.

She giggles once more, “And where are you going with this, hm?” I try to suddenly pin her down, but by the time I reach her, she has already moved around and is the one pinning me down, face on the concrete, “Too slow.”

“You’re too fast.” I grumble into the concrete, then gasp as her hands start traveling me.

“It’s been a while since I did this.” She sounds heated. “And how the hell do you get this off?”

With her somewhat distracted, I manage to roll us over, my superior strength easily holding her down, “Like this.” I undo the buckles and straps, and off comes the armor. “And now yours.”

I was about to carelessly rip it off, but somewhere during my attempt, she rolls us over, my side is hitting the fresh corpse. “I would like to keep this outfit, thank you very much.” She carefully undresses herself, before gently putting it to the side. “Now th… ah!”

Yet another roll, and now her back is on the corpse, my eyes narrow as I greedily pull her into a kiss,  _ ‘Claim.’ _ I give her no chance to react as I shove my forked tongue into her mouth, cleaning out the remaining blood. Her chest presses against mine as a moan escapes her, but she seems unsatisfied being on the bottom and we end up rolling off the corpse back onto the concrete, slick with the blood of the nearby body. “If you don’t stay still…” The murderous glint in her eyes return. Her hands travel my scales as lust practically washes over her… then she pulls out a dagger. “Let’s make this a little more fun, hm?”

My Dragon roars in protest, instinct taking over as she gently traces my face with the blade, her smile is sadistic as she somehow manages to hold me down, the blade gently cutting into my skin, almost sensually. I growl out, showing my obvious comptent from being cut into and with a push from my instincts, I roll us over once more, pressing against her body hard enough to hear her arms give in, almost to the point of breaking bone.

For a moment she actually looks panicked, yet that only lasts a fraction of a second, before succumbing to my force. She raises an eyebrow, clearly anticipating what I will do next. “ **Mine** .” I nibble at her neck, avoiding any major spots, my teeth easily tearing into her. My breathing increases as I taste blood,  _ ‘More.’ _ I drag my teeth down, leaving a number of cuts across her body. “Haah…” I finally moan.

“Mmm…” She simply hums, she seems content, but also… bored? “Stop being so… gentle.” She sighs.

_ ‘I get it.’ _ Another growl escapes me as I tear into her body, leaving deep gashes, if she were not a Conduit, and already healing, she would have been dead. Though she finally moans out, as if I hit a pleasure point. I resume ripping into her skin, even going so far as to bite a piece off, she keeps encouraging it. “Come on, killer, what else you got?” Inspired by her desire to feel pain, I rake my fingers down, the scent of blood continuing to thicken the air.

I hesitate at her core, briefly unwilling to damage the area, “Oh, please…” Yet she still goads me, and I end up scraping my teeth against her core, more or less literally eating her out. “Haah!”  _ ‘Wow, she is really into pain…’ _ Her wounds from earlier have already closed,  _ ‘Looks like she heals faster than Cole, too.’ _ Her legs wrap around me as I continue performing moderate bites on her core, as it seems enough to push her over the edge. “Whoo…” She pants, seemingly out of breath. “You’re good.”

Another growl, but it comes out as more of a deep chuckle, “You taste good.” I lick up the remaining blood around my mouth. “I wouldn’t mind biting into  **your** flesh again.”

She giggles as the last of her wounds have already healed over… not a single scar remains. “You’re pretty bold for asking me out already.” She rises up, “But… I suppose I can make room for you.” She winks, “See you next time, killer.”

With that she leaves, but I notice something is off, “You forgot your… clothes.” She doesn’t return,  _ ‘Well then…’ _ I put my armor back on, then place her clothes in my pouch. “I’ll keep them safe, then.” Stretching out, I make my way back to the rooftop.  _ ‘Well, that was certainly enjoyable.’ _

_ ‘Kill, rend.’ _ Alright fine, maybe a quick snack before I return...


	20. Big Boom

I return to the rooftop, as clean as I left.  _ ‘That woman is something else…’ _ I should probably get a name on her. Both Cole and Zeke are here, deep in discussion. “This won’t be easy Zeke, I’m counting on you.”

The man he deems his brother laughs, “Cole my man,  **you** got the hard task, I just gotta nab that Sphere.” He smacks the Conduit’s shoulder, getting a small jolt.

“Yea I know… I’m just worried.” He pauses as he motions me over, “First Alden turns himself in… and now all the sudden he has the Ray Sphere.” He throws his arms into the air, “Completely out of the blue… something is going on.”

_ ‘I thought Kessler gave Hadronix the Ray Sphere…’ _ Well, he obviously has something planned. “And how can I help?” I offer.

A pool of water forms on the ground, and slowly takes the shape of Lucas. “We’re… track i n g, down a group of Kess l e r goons.”

I smile,  _ ‘Good to know he is starting to talk normally.’ _ Cole has a smug smile on his face, “Anything specific I should know?”

“Plant i n g bombs.” Lucas replies. “A r o u n d… city.”

I glance over at Cole, “Should we get the bombs first, then them?”

Yet the Water Conduit raises his translucent hand, “I… handle bombs. You get goons.” He looks confident, at least.

I nod, “Alright, I’ll do that. Good luck, you three.” With that said, we all take our leaves.  _ ‘Hunt down some bomb planters, hm?’ _ At least they'll have Kessler’s scent on them... 

\---------------------------------------------------------

I manage to pick up the future Cole’ scent next to the bridge connecting the Neon and Historic districts. There is also a combination of multiple people, his goons I’d assume. Following the trail leads me to the central park of the Neon.  _ ‘And that is not good.’  _ Focusing my eyes, I scan the park, trying to pick out the key figures among the peaceful masses.

If it weren't for the fact that something deadly could happen, I could probably take a nap here. “Hey, it’s the Dragon Girl!” And with that one shout, nearly the entire park comes over to me…  _ ‘Great.’  _ I keep myself from rolling my eyes.

Still, I might be able to take advantage of this. “I'm looking for a few… unique people, anything strange happen recently?”

I am met with looks of curiosity. “No ma'am.” Is the general response.

“Then excuse me, this is really important.” I pardon myself, much to the disappointment of the public. I internally sigh,  _ ‘I'll pay this park a visit some other time.’ _ And, so I leave the area, opting to following the increasingly faint scent trail, like the group washed themselves off.  _ ‘Bath…’ _

I turn my attention to the lake in the center of the park.  _ ‘So, they probably tried to rinse some of their scent off.’ _ Well, considering these are Kessler’s men, then they know about my enhanced senses. I make my way into the lake, trying to find the general spot they stopped at. With the combination of both their scent and the lake water in mind, I resume following the trail, which is much more vivid now.

Now that my confidence is renewed, I speed up my pace.  _ ‘Easy…’ _ I smile,  _ ‘Comes with a free meal.’ _

_ ‘Feast, blood.’ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------

I end up basically backtracking the same path I took to get to the park and into the Historic District. I have yet to hear anything akin to bombs or a group of guys,  _ ‘It’s so empty here, like it was right after the Blast.’ _ Still, I follow the trail, determined to…

I stop mid-step as a massive forest greets my eyesight.  _ ‘That’s right, Hadronix mentioned a forest growing in the northern side of the Historic District, I didn’t think it would be that large though.’ _ Most of the plant life wraps up and around the buildings… but there is a single tree that towers above the rest of the buildings.  _ ‘It’s probably the Conduit’s hideout.’ _ I find myself taking unconscious steps towards it, drawn by the natural, or rather, unnatural beauty around it. I focus my senses, and let out a sigh as I am unable to locate any animals.  _ ‘Oh well…’ _ I take one more glance at the tree before turning around and resuming my task.

Then bumping right into a wall, but this isn’t a normal wall,  _ ‘Kessler.’ _ His arms is crossed, clearly displeased, “What are you doing here?” He sounds more like he’s chiding a child.

I form a sheepish smile, “Looking for a group that’s um… planting bombs?” Unlike Cole, well present Cole, he has this glare that sends chills through me.

“Leave.” He steps aside and gestures towards the Neon. “Now.” I comply, trying to avoid getting on his bad side, since he still has Hadronix, but within a few steps, I overhear some screams. The air sparks and Kessler has already left.

Another set of screams, followed by laughter this time,  _ ‘Oh… it’s the woman.’ _ My Dragon reaches out for her, clearly desiring another encounter with her,  _ ‘No, Kessler wants…’ _ I pause,  _ ‘Kill, ravage, claim.’ _ Well, I don’t exactly have a lot of chances to indulge my Dragon so much, so.  _ ‘I’ll see what she’s up to, even if I already know the answer to that.’ _ With that thought in mind, I follow the sounds, accompanied by the alluring scent of blood. My stomach growls,  _ ‘And maybe get something to eat.’ _

My hearing has to have become more refined over the weeks spent on this planet, considering I ended up, once again, back in the Neon.  _ ‘No, she must just be on the move.’ _ And when I do get back… gods. The Neon is in a panic, people are scrambling around the area, clearly in distress, “Save us!” Came the shouts. “Electric Man! Dragon Girl!” I double my speed, hoping to catch the woman… and do what?  _ ‘She’s a serial killer, and she clearly likes my Dragon, but… I need to protect the people.’ _ Once again, I find my Human and Dragon clashing,  _ ‘What’s more important, then?’ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I end up in an open area, where the woman has rounded up a number of people, more like cattle than humans, grinning viciously. I have yet to get an answer to my internal debate, Human and Dragon keep trying to outdo the other, in fact, this is the strongest pull my Human side has ever had.  _ ‘Cole, Trish, Zeke, and Hadronix would want me to save them… so would Elise.’ _ My determination doubles at that,  _ ‘Elise.’ _ I charge in,  _ ‘My love.’ _ My crafted sword is in one hand, my maw formed on the other.

“Dragon Girl is here!” One of the hostages exclaim.

The woman turns to face me, “Hey, killer.” She seems to think my weapons are for them, but no.

Not this time. “Leave them.” I declare. “They’re civilians.”

She gives me a disgusted look, “Don’t tell me… the only reason you joined last time was because the targets were the Dust Men?” Within a second her sword is drawn and is pointed at me, “I should’ve known better than think another is like me.” She slices two people within one swing, not even bothering for the screams. “Blood is blood, killer.”

“They’re innocent.” I simply state as I charge her. She smiles as she basically disappears, and on instinct, I raise my blade, barely in time to stop her first strike. I manage to slam her with the topside of my maw, before firing a energy sphere, knocking her back several more inches. She scowls and is on me in a second again, landing a strike on my armor…

Which deflects it without a single scratch. “Nice armor.” She quietly states as she lands no less than five strikes within a blink of an eye.  _ ‘Thank you, Hadronix.’ _ I internally praise the Hunter for the reinforcements. I attempt to slash her, but she easily side-steps it, and countering.  _ ‘Still too fast.’ _ I can barely keep up.

Then she yelps in pain as a stream of water hits her, Lucas forms several feet from us. “Leave her alone.” He mimics my maw and lance, managing a strike.

“Back off…” She pauses mid sentence as her sword simply passes through him, “Shit.” She attempts a second time, before resuming her focus on me, but now constantly shifting her position so that Lucas can’t get a clear hit. I can slowly feel my armor giving way to her strikes. I focus on my Dragonstone,  _ ‘I need more defense, or else my armor is going to break.’ _ I shift and swipe my tail at her.

Despite the severity of the situation, I hear the people cheer for me, as well as gasping in disbelief. “Woah! She  **is** a dragon!” I stomp the nearby ground, akin to how Keaton would shake it. It has the intended effect and the woman stumbles, I take that small window of opportunity and grab her with my front hand. “Dragons don’t have hands…” I overhear a whisper.

The woman struggles, but ultimately is unable to free herself. “Pitiful.” I all but spit,  _ ‘I’m not taking any chances.’ _ I growl at her, “Everyone… don’t look.” With my only warning, I tighten my grip, refusing to give her even a chance at survival.  _ ‘I won’t be able to knock her off-guard like that again.’ _ Her struggles become more desperate, but weaker. She starts to slow down, clearly unable to breathe,  _ ‘Not a single grunt in pain, though.’ _

She stops breathing entirely, I tighten my grip for a few more seconds, just to make sure. Then, in a last, grisly reassurance, I snap her body in a way that is shouldn’t be,  _ ‘Just like how Oboro ended up.’ _ With her folded backwards, I finally discard her, more like trash rather than a person. I take a breath and shift back, and am understandably met with looks of disgust. “I’m sorry you all had to see that,” I quickly apologize, “but I couldn’t take a chance with someone like that.”

Slowly the crowd starts to relax, “Thank you, Dragon Girl.” The praise finally returns and I sigh in relief.

“Lucas, thanks.” I turn my attention to the Water Conduit.

“You’re wel c o m e, Yasei.” He smiles, then frowns, “I was unable to find bombs.”

“Where did you get that information from? I couldn’t find the group, either.” Kessler sure didn’t give any information up.

“Cole said Moya called.” He states.

_ ‘Why would Moya lead us…’ _ I stop mid thought after I hear an explosion… all the way from the garbage tower in the Warren. The nearby people panic once more,  _ ‘Cole… Zeke.’ _ The tower goes up in an explosive finish, so powerful that I can even see it from here. “I need to go.” I charge towards the tower.  _ ‘Gods, please be safe you two.’ _


	21. Burn It Down!

I continually sprint and leap from the Neon, through the Warren, all the way to the now collapsed garbage tower, a layer of near suffocating smoke surrounds it.  _ ‘Gods, what happened?’ _ An explosion and smoke doesn't tell me much. “Cole! Zeke!” I yell, yet receive nothing I in response. I instead push through the smoke, hoping to catch their scents instead. The area shakes, the sound seems to have came in the direction of the bridge…

And when I look,  _ ‘That's Alden’s garbage suit.’ _ I easily recognize it from the night he stole Hadronix… I let out a vicious growl and push for another sprint, despite my draconic body starting to protest.  _ ‘I'm going to rip him apart.’ _ I don't care if she thought it was for the best… he needs to die. I feel my armor giving in to a number of bullets along the way, I can feel the impacts, some of them are even beginning to tear through, but I don't care right now.  _ ‘Rip, revenge.’ _

I take a ragged breath as I take my first step on the bridge and by now I can both see and hear Cole, his lightning slowly chipping away the Conduit’s armor. Once more I push myself, determined to help him out. “Cole!” I shout as I deflect some debris with a summoned wing.

“Been a while.” He casually comments, like he is observing the weather, rather than fighting a Conduit on a bridge slowly tearing apart, and a river below us. Though as far as Cole is concerned, it might as well be lava. “Armor’s thick and there is a lot of rubber, any ideas?”

“You will die, minions of Kessler!” Alden proclaims.

“I can get closer…” There isn't much room, but if I could get behind him… “I'm going to have to shift to stay near him,” I hesitate.

“But?” Cole asks.

“It'll probably cause the bridge to be destroyed faster.” Cole scoffs, clearly irritated.

“We could really use Hadronix right now.” I simply nod in agreement, “Alright then, I'll keep shocking his balls until he drops.”

Alden seems to be more focused on Cole… in a single-minded manner, like I am not even worth his time.  _ ‘I can't just get in, that'll put Cole in a worse position.’ _ I form my maw and unsheathe my sword. I hope these two ranged attacks will be enough… With that in mind, I charge a sphere.

“Begone, outsider!” Alden shouts, suddenly redirecting his attention to me, launching a huge debris ball at me.  _ ‘Oh, now he notices me.’ _ I barely dodge it, the huge thing is fired off much more faster than I would have thought… at least, I thought I dodged it. Alden must have redirected it mid-course.

And of course, out of all of the spots it could have struck, it slams into the side of my armor covering my Wyrmslayer wound. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to pierce, but the impact itself was more than enough to send me to the ground, a scream accompanying it all.  _ ‘Godsdamn this… wound.’ _ I barely register Cole yelling as a large amount of electricity starts to collect near him.

I would look, but the pain is pulsing, nowhere near as bad as the other times it opened, but… my thoughts are interrupted as a boom echoes through the sky. I can feel the sparks bouncing from point to point on the bridge and Alden. “Yasei?!” Cole shakes me, but all that does is irritate the pain, “Sorry, but we gotta move!” I can hear parts of the bridge collapsing.

“I…” I force myself to choke out through the pain. “Coming.” I shouldn't have ran here so fast… I push my body once more, gritting my sharpened teeth as it starts to burn.  _ ‘Why does it have to  _ **_burn_ ** _?’ _ “I’ll be there, you need to move.” Yet, he hesitates, “Cole, I can swim, you can't.  **Move** !” With that command out, he takes off. I stumble after my first step.

The next thing I know, the river is rushing up to greet me…  _ ‘Wait, the bridge hasn't fallen yet.’ _ I turn to see Lucas practically surfing a wave, his watery hand extended. “Got you, Yasei.” I eagerly take his hand, and force myself to hold on as the burn intensifies. The world around me starts to blacken around me and I whimper in pain.  _ ‘Gods…’ _

\------------------------------------------------------------

I wake up to feel something soft under me,  _ ‘It’s grass…’ _ Why is there grass in a…  _ “There’s a forest on the northern side of the Historic Districts… probably another Conduit.” _ Hadronix’s observations echoes through my head. I slowly get up and look around, the burning pain is almost absent.  _ ‘Only because it was just hit, and not opened again.’ _ Lucas is absent, he must have had to do something. I pause, Cole too, isn’t here.

Without any other better ideas, I decide to proceed into the forest. While it definitely has the scent of nature about it… something seems off. Well, the distinct lack of animals is one, there's also the lack of dirt, and the stillness of it all just screams wrong.  _ ‘Probably all has to do with it being made by a Conduit.’ _ I continue walking, towards the large tree, even as I catch of glimpse of lightning in the direction of the Neon.  _ ‘He’ll be fine for a few moments.’ _

“Are we there yet?” I hear a voice echo, it sounds a young girl. “Whaddya mean we aren’t there yet?” She continues, even as nothing else is talking to her. Out of curiosity, I change course to the voice, “How about now?” She giggles.

Another voice sighs, “We’ll get there when we get there.” His voice is stern, unflinching,  _ ‘Kind of like big brother’s…’ _

“_____, calm yourself, this is not the way a princess should act.” A third voice, calm and collected, yet…  _ ‘He said a name, but I couldn’t hear it, but I know I heard something…’ _

“___, that’s not true, big sister told me about how you would discard your tomato stems after you ate them!” The small girl was rewarded with a giggle from yet another person.

“Sorry dear ___, but I  **had** to share that with _____.” The fourth comes out sultry, almost motherlike…

And I stop in my tracks, then shake my head,  _ ‘For some reason, I can’t hear names, but I can just… I know they’re using them!’ _ This forest suddenly feels oppressive, wrong, but I can’t seem to pull away.  _ ‘Who are they?’ _

“Did you hear? We’re getting another sister!” The young one exclaims.

“_______, that was supposed to be a surprise.” It’s the stern one again.

A sultry giggle, “Sorry ______, but I couldn’t resist our little sister’s charms.” The smaller voice squeaks, “She’s a little older than you.”

The calm one lets out a chuckle, “Hardly any taller, though. You two just might be mistaken for actual sisters.”

“My little sister, maybe. Well, her hair is a little darker shade of purple than mine… oh!” The older woman exclaims, “She also has these beautiful lavender eyes.” I nearly trip,  _ ‘It’s all just a coincidence, right? I mean, apparently Hadronix, Lotus, and Raven all look alike. So, these people aren’t any different.’ _

“What’s her name?” The youngest one exclaims.

Yet it seems like no one answers for several minutes, almost like the voices just left. “Yasei.” The stern one states.

At that, I actually stumble, “What?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking out loud. Their conversation continues, but I ignore the actual words in favor of actually getting to them. “Leo?” I call out,  _ ‘They’re dead, they… but they’re right here! They…’ _ “Xander? Camilla? Elise?” Everytime it seems like they are only one turn away, I miss them and they are somewhere else. “Big brother? Bis sister? Little sister?” I try again as I follow another false lead.  _ ‘Think! They’re dead! Phoenix killed them!’ _

_ ‘But… I don’t know that.’ _ I trip and fall on my face, sliding to a halt, tears streaming down my face. “Please be safe…” I choke out, then freeze in place as I sense a presence looming over me.

“Yasei?” I look up and see Leo’s calm face, the man who could answer almost any question. “Come on, Camilla will never cease to fuss at me if she found you lying on the floor again.”

I smile and reach for his hand, “Big brother…” Then my heart drops as my hand fades straight through his, his body flickers before vanishing. “No.” For a moment I stay in that position, body on the floor with an outstretched hand. “My family…” I silently cry out, “I'm so sorry, I should have never made you all upset.”

Yet my mind wasn't done tormenting me, “My dear Yasei…” Camilla’s voice coos at me, taking the spot Leo was just at. “What's wrong?”

This time I manage to get up, “Big sister…” I move to hug her, but…  _ ‘Not real. This isn't real.’ _

The image of Camilla wraps her arms around me and even though I can't feel them, it still somehow warms me, a reassurance that only she can provide. “Shh… I'm here for you.”

_ ‘This isn't fair…. It's not right.’ _ My eyes have dried out, “I'm sorry, I've done so many horrible…”

Her hug tightens, or at least, her arms fade into my body, “Nobody blames you, darling. Everyone has their tough days… yours just lasted a little longer.” She pulls away and levels her eyes at me, smiling softly, “Keep pushing… it'll be worth it in the end.” She fades away.

“Worth it?” I repeat, “I lost everything… Everyone… how can that be made up?!” I shoot out, receiving only a gentle breeze in response.  _ ‘Phoenix…’ _ That tactician… the one I trusted my army with… the one who used her magic to manipulate me. She tried to kill Hadronix and me… While Nohr, Hoshido, and everyone in it are already dead. And what can I do about it? Nothing. Even if I were to get back, she would kill me with a few words.  _ “No amount of Talismans will protect you from her magic.”  _ Phoenix has enough power to get Selena to break her oath as a retainer without even doing anything.

A sudden sort of unease flows through by body as I just realized something about those images of my family,  _ ‘I saw them all as adults, but they stated I was just arriving, and I’m slightly older than Elise.’ _ Besides, I don’t remember hearing anything like that. “I got to get out of here.” With that in mind, I make my way back outside of the forest, before I realize my movements are getting sluggish.

“I’m afraid I can’t leave you leave, girl.” A feminine calls out, echoing around me, she sounds calm and soothing,  _ ‘Like Camilla, almost.’ _ “Or rather, the pollen you have already breathed in won’t let you leave.”  _ ‘Conduit…’ _ As the word resonates through my head, I feel something brush against my legs. Looking down, I see vines. I reach for my sword, but I find that my arms refuse to move. In fact, my lance and maw won’t form and I can’t focus enough on my Dragonstone to shift. “A strong woman like you will be a delectable treat for my pride and joy.” The vines have wrapped around my legs and are now dragging me, the abrupt unwanted change causing me to fall…

I feel an intense wave of heat as the vines are burnt away, “Ancestors, my liege… can’t you do anything without me?” I hear Hadronix jab at me, “Come on, up you go.” I eagerly grab her outstretched hand and pull myself up,  _ ‘Hold on,  _ **_she_ ** _ pulled me up.’ _ I am greeted by her usual smirk, “Kessler gave me a sort of ‘bonus’ pay,” She gives me a knowing look, “I have to admit, it’s the first time I worked with implants.”

“You…” The Conduit’s voice echoes once more, “will pay.”

Yet the Hunter shrugs her off, “Thanks for unknowingly acting as a distraction.” Hadronix crosses her arms, “And she’s my charge, of course I’m going to kick your ass.” I giggle at her proclamation. “Or I suppose in this case, I’m burning your ass.”

“What?!” The voice gasps, as is she just realized something. “...NO!” Within a second later, a boom erupts from the direction of the large tree. I glance over to see that a large chunk of it has been blown off and even larger portions are on fire.

“I mean, seriously, not a single sentry? All you rely on is that pollen?” The Hunter scoffs, “Let’s get out of here, before we’re surrounded by flames.” She rolls her eyes.

I smile,  _ ‘At least I can move…’ _ Shrugging my shoulders, I follow her. Still though, that one statement from the fake Camilla stuck with me.

_ ‘Will fate really make up for everything?’ _ She was an image, an illusion,  _ ‘But…’ _ I shake my head, not now.


	22. A Moment of Peace...

I take in a deep breath as I relax on the rooftop. Strangely enough, after Cole got the bridges connected to the Historic District down, things have been quiet.  _ ‘Sasha was taken away by those trained men, Alden fell off the bridge, Kessler hasn’t shown himself since the last time I’ve seen him, that sword-wielding Conduit is dead, the plant one has been taken out by Hadronix,’ _ I take a mental pause as I go over the list of Conduits,  _ ‘Lucas has been absent quite a bit too, now that I think about it.’ _

It feels strange, not being called on by people so often, the crime is so far down that the Police can handle most threats.  _ “I don’t like this.” _ Hadronix stated one day,  _ “It’s always a ‘calm before the storm’, and I have a feeling it’s going to be a pretty big storm.” _ I tried to shrug it off, and convince her to take it easy for a bit, because by the gods… she has practically locked herself in her new workshop,  _ “I need to get us back, and since we have some free time,” _ Any further attempts were discarded.

But is there anything to get back to? “Whew…” I hear Zeke as he opens the door to the rooftop, “I’m ready to hit the hay.”

I follow his movements with a raised eyebrow. “It’s not even lunch time yet.” He startles as he just notices me, giving me a sheepish smile.

“Oh uh… I thought you would be out there,” He nervously chuckles, “fighting crime and all that.”

I shake my head with a smile small, “Our work is paying off, the Police have most of it covered.” A look of concern passes by his face and there is an intense scent of discomfort,  _ ‘That’s right… Hadronix told me something happened between Zeke and Cole at that tower, but refused to give me details.’ _

He shrugs, “More time to doze off, then.” He flops on the couch without a care in the world. Even despite all that has happened, he still somehow manages to find a way to relax.

Any of us could have died at any point, he could have made it easy if he didn’t associate himself with us. Standing by Cole’s side earned him a lot of ire at first, being a friend to a supposed ‘terrorist’. Yet he stuck through it all and despite his rather glaring issue of laziness, he’s there when it counts…

Then, by the gods, what did he do to sever that friendship in one day?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trish smiles as she guides Cole, Hadronix, and I to that same restaurant… with the same bowl… with the,  _ ‘Wait.’ _ The second I enter it actually smells pretty good.  _ ‘Did they finally get something else?’ _ I glance over at the others while we sit down, thankfully not being harrassed by every other person. Trish and Cole have grown closer again, the gap that formed after the Blast has finally closed. Hadronix nudges me with her elbow, “Check it out, two lovebirds.” Cole coughs as Trish’s face turns red. “Hey Trish…”

“Please don’t.” I sigh.

“Is he shockingly handsome?” Cole’s mouth twitches upward for a brief second, I place my head in my hands, while Trish seems exasperated by the pun.

“It’s hard to believe you’re an adult.” She finally replies.

“Just because I’m an adult, doesn’t mean I have to act mature all the time.” The Hunter points out, “Why don’t you ask some of the goofy things Cole does?”

She raises an eyebrow and looks at her boyfriend, “Goofy things?”

He raises his hands, “Some children wanted to see some tricks, so I did some for them.” Despite it all, he chuckles, “It’s been helpful actually, I’ve never really done much more than attack gangs and restore generators, so it’s nice to see what else I can do.”

“Like?” Trish smiles, clearly absorbed. Cole pauses as he thinks, then snaps his fingers, causing a spark to seemingly dance on his hand. I focus on it as he moves it around like he would a ball, causing it to bounce from one arm to the other, before it finally sizzles out. “That is pretty nice.” She admits.

“Yea, nothing practical, but it’s a good distraction.” He nods, clearly proud of the trick. “It also goes to show how much control I have over my powers now.”

Trish looks like she was about to add something, but the server comes by and places the bowls down.  _ ‘Okay, it’s still only stew, but…’ _ They added some other things like herbs and some meat into it,  _ ‘Smells really good.’ _ It certainly tastes better than before.

“It’s good, then?” Hadronix suddenly asks at one point.

“Compared to what we have been eating? It’s paradise.” Cole states.

Trish looks uncertain, “Where did they get the ingredients?”

I notice Hadronix’s face has a distant smile, not quite sad, but also not too happy, “It’s what Sis would have done.” She mutters, barely audible. “Ancestors, I miss her.” I almost didn’t hear that.

“So, you got them?” The doctor continues.

The Pandaren nods, “Well, Ruinad got the meat and I pulled out some spare herbs.” A sheepish smile forms, “I hope Sis won’t mind me using those…” She looks at each of us, “Spare herbs from my homeland.” Another pause, “Her spare herbs.”

I give her a strange look, “And just how much is ‘some’?”

The Hunter pauses as a sheepish smile graces her face, “Oh… about four stacks of each.” However, before I could ask for a more specific estimate, “And each stack is roughly two hundred each.”

A short silence follows, “Why am I not surprised?” I sigh.  _ ‘I should be used to her antics by now.’ _

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

After lunch was had and we left, we made our way to the park, well most of us, “I’m going to resume working on the Wormhole Generator.” Hadronix comments on the way.

“You sure? We don’t get days off like this often.” Cole attempts to persuade her.

Yet she shakes her head, “I have to finish this, there are still people my liege and I need…”

“Liege?” Trish interrupts, “That’s the first time I heard that.”

The Hunter takes a glance at me, “You didn’t tell them?” All she gets from me is a sheepish smile, “Your local dragon Shifter here is a princess and I swore an oath so I could get some royal ass off my back.”

“Ryoma.” I add.

“I don’t care.” She rolls her eyes. “The point is, I need to get her back.”

“...If there is anything left to get back to.” My voice drops. “Phoenix…”

“Hold on, can we back up some?” Cole asks, “Princess?” He looks me over, “You’re a princess?”

I shrug, “Expecting someone prettier?” I force my insecurities back,  _ ‘Too thin, no assets.’ _

Unfortunately, that comment put him in a rather delicate position, he can’t compliment me too well, or Trish  **might** get the wrong idea. “I, uh… just didn’t think,” He starts.

“You have a good heart Yasei,” Trish steps in with a smile, “That will get you farther than looks ever will. I’m sure your people would prefer to have a fair and just Queen.”

I catch Hadronix giving her an approving nod,  _ ‘Two different people saying that…’ _ . I find myself at a loss for words,  _ ‘But you don’t know what I have to deal with. The taste for blood and flesh. The thrill of ripping a living creature apart. The lus…’ _ I choke on a sob mid-thought,  _ ‘I can’t go into heat… I can’t have children. I just wanted to hold Keaton’s pup in my arms and…’ _

“Aw come on, don’t start crying.” Hadronix breaks me out of my thoughts, “Makes me look bad.” Yumigami’s form pops into existence beside me and starts nudging her nose one one of my hands, “See? You got support.” There is a tinge of… pride?  _ ‘I can’t tell, but there was some sort of change in her voice when she saw Yumi come near me.’ _ Yumi lets out a small bark when I pet her head,  _ ‘It’s so smooth, even though it looks coarse. There is also the very distinct flare of magic in it, it’s  _ **_like_ ** _ Dark Magic, but calmer? It isn’t as intense.’ _

“I can’t say I understand your situation, but I believe you’ll be a fine Queen.” Trish adds on, before nudging Cole, “Say something.” She whispers.

However, the Conduit seems at a loss, “He doesn’t have to,” I speak up, “It means enough as is for all you have done.”

“I was hoping he would spout out something embarrassing, but maybe next time.” Hadronix smirks, “Anyway, I’ll be going now,” She whistles for Ruinad, “Yumi has taken a liking to you, I suppose I can let her stick around with you, Princess Yasei.” That strange tinge in her voice comes back with that,  _ ‘Sadness? Happiness? It’s like a combination of so many emotions that it comes out dull… like Nohr’s slosh soup.’ _

Yumi lets out a happy bark as Hadronix walks away, before redirecting her attention back to my hand with a  small whimper. “Now then, why are  **you** so affectionate towards me?” I ask as I resume her small treatment,  _ ‘She is wagging her tail quite furiously.’ _ The Void Wolf’s head turns towards me with a small tilt, like she needs a reason. “Fair enough.”

“Can she really understand her pets like that?” Cole finally says something.

I shrug, “That’s how I get it, she has some sort of bond with them.” I then shudder as Bethy’s image pops in my head, “A very special bond.” Especially if she can haul around a beast as demonic as that spider.

“Are you okay? You turned a little pale.” Trish’s gaze falls on my face.

“Hadronix just… has a pet that is a spider,” I start, “That’s constantly on fire… purple fire, and it… she has venom that can burn through anything.” My voice jumps at the thought. “It doesn’t help she put a cloaking device on her, so that spider can  **also** go invisible.” Gods know I don’t need a reminder of first time seeing her

The doctor and the Conduit cringe, “Sounds something like a horror movie.” Cole comments.

_ ‘Movie… that is supposed to be like a ‘T.V. show’ but longer,’ _ I nod, “Much worse than anything a movie can show off.” And Hadronix is openly proud of that demon-spider. “Far worse.”

“Well, at least it sounds interesting whenever she is around,”

“The Electric Man!” Cole is waved down by a civilian mere moments before we reach the park, I giggle at his unwanted nickname, “Do you mind doing us a favor?”

“Sure thing, whatcha need?” Trish smiles at him as he follows the man back to a small… camping site?

“Are they really going to ask him to refuel their electronics?” I shake my head, “Don’t you think that’s a bit… excessive?”

“Electricity isn’t as readily available as it should be,” Trish explains, “Until the quarantine is over with, we’re only allowed so much power a day. So no, I don’t think so.” She pauses, “Well, now that he is occupied, do you mind doing some shopping?”

“Shopping?” I hesitate, but then notice a sly smile on her face, “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“Perhaps.” She offers her hand and I accept it, “It’ll just be for a few girl things… besides, I don’t think we’ve actually spent time together.”

I think back as I follow her lead, “You’re right, actually. You have always been preoccupied with your work.”  _ ‘And whenever she did have a break, she spent it with Cole… not that I mind. They are rather infatuated with each other.’ _ “Where to first?”

“Nowhere in particular,” She states, yet she is taking a rather specific path, “Just a few stores here and there.” I inwardly sigh,  _ ‘And by few you probably mean a few dozen.’ _ I smile, might as well make the best of it.

And if she was able to, Yumigami would start laughing.


	23. ...Before the Storm

I wake up once more on The Rooftop, with a ‘few’ bags of things around me.  _ ‘A few dozen.’ _ I knew that shopping would last a while, this may be a different planet, but it seems it is a universal truth that when someone says ‘few’ they mean a lot.  _ ‘Like how Camilla would bring a ‘few’ gifts with her on her visits to the Northern Castle.’ _ I open one of the bags at random, some dresses, stockings,  _ ‘I don’t even use footwear, but she insisted.’ _ , my face flushes as I go over the many ‘girl’ things we ended up buying.  _ ‘Makeup, lipstick, shirts _ , _ ‘gods, it felt like that one day going out shopping with Camilla.’ _ It isn’t any less embarrassing either… especially if one of the others saw this stuff.

I start gently placing them inside of the bottomless pouch Hadronix gave me, only to find it wouldn’t accept anymore when I got to the last bag,  _ ‘Oh, not now… this has the  _ **_really_ ** _ private stuff.’ _ Panties, bras, and…  _ ‘How is there an adult shop open?’ _ I refuse to even think about the slender object in the bag. I take a breath and sort through my enchanted pouch, figuring out what exactly to take out so I can put  **this** stuff in.

“Nice dick.” Hadronix’s voice comes up from out of nowhere and I jump out of my scales, “I would think you would have gotten a larger one…”

“HADRONIX!” I squeal, “Gods…” My face is burning, “Do you have another one of those pouches?”

She smirks, “Do I?”

She is clearly set to amuse herself, “Come on, help me out here, I don’t want Cole or Zeke to see this stuff!”

She shrugs, “I would help, but I have to say it’s been a while since I’ve participated in any sexual activity.”

“You know what I meant!” I feel like passing out, just to avoid the embarrassment,  _ ‘Just like that morning, when I masturbated all night…’ _

“Does it vibrate?” She continues.

“Damn it woman, do you or do you not have another pouch?”

She nods, finally relenting, “Yes.” Yet she doesn’t make any attempt to show it to me.

“Well?” I have a bad feeling about this.

“One condition, I want to you to shout out to the sky on what that is.” She motions towards the…

“No.” My entire face must be red by now, “That’s just…”

“It’s just a word.” She continues to goad. “Just once.”

“Pouch. Now.”

She shakes her head, “If you don’t hurry up, Cole or Zeke just might be in earshot by the ti…”

“I bought a DILDO!” I force the words out, “There! Pouch.”

Clearly satisfied, she pulls out another pouch inside of her pocket, “Here you go.” I eagerly snatch it from her, “Now, what do you say?”

“...Thank you.” I state after a moment, “...Still an ass.”

“At least I have one.” With that, she walks towards the couch and tosses herself on it. “Oh, by the way.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” I finish putting the rest of the stuff away.

“I bought a DILDO!” I hear my own voice come from her direction. I snap my head towards the sound and see a small device in her hand. “I bought a DILDO!” She presses a button on it.

“HADRONIX!” I hastily secure the pouch before charging her, all the while she laughs out loud and runs away.

“I bought a DILDO!” She presses that cursed button again.

“Please stop that…” She somehow manages to keep ahead of me. My prayers are answered as she slams into Zeke, who just walked through the door.

“What the hell?” He and the Hunter land on the roof, the man drops some food of some sorts, while Hadronix’s device goes over the edge. And just when I thought it was all over…

“I bought a DILDO!” I hear that exclamation echo from the streets below.  _ ‘Gods save me…’ _

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pushing the morning disaster out of my mind, I head over to the coordinates Moya so ‘graciously’ gave me.  _ “There is heavy First Son movement going on, I have Cole investigating the other side of the Historic District.” _ Was all she said before she abruptly hangs up, as usual.  _ ‘I really don’t like her.’ _ Still I comply, I honestly have never felt so bothered with anyone’s demands.  _ ‘At least there was a reason for Keaton’s. Moya is just an ass.’ _

She’s probably sitting over in her headquarters, eating snacks while… my phone rings once more,  _ ‘Cole? He must have found something.’ _ I answer the call, “Yeah?”

“You’re still on the South-East side, yea?” I can hear his feet slamming against concrete, which is soon followed by sparks. “There’s a helicopter heading that direction, mind taking it out?”

“Sure thing.” I get a quick thank you as a response, followed by a loud blast. I scan the skies and easily spot the small speck that is steadily growing larger. I focus on my Dragonstone and shift, then ready a stream of water… before I feel a heavy blunt object slam into my side. “Gods…” I shake my head and see one of those Garbage Conduits, this one has larger armor than the rest, but not nearly the size of Alden’s. “Why now?” My draconic voice echoes.  _ ‘I still got time, just have to finish him off quickly.’ _

I rear my horns and slam into the armor, which only manages to chip into it.  _ ‘Stronger than the last one, too.’ _ It forms a debris ball at a speed much faster than the others can,  _ ‘Must be a rising leader.’ _ Without enough time to properly dodge, I shield myself with my wings, yet the force alone is still enough to push me back. I can hear the small number of people around us panicking. “Get out!” I try to get them to move, yet some stay, paralyzed in fear. The Conduit picks up on this, and sends one of its fists towards a civilian instead of me. I manage to push the poor woman away, taking the brunt of the hit. “Coward… LEAVE!” I reinforce my command earlier.

Shaking off the daze, I ready another stream, and fire it off before he has another chance to target someone else, the water easily pierces through its armor, yet he just summons more garbage to repair the hole.  _ ‘Gods… Now what?’ _ Without hesitating I fire another stream at the spot where he is… and my stream doesn’t even scratch it. Now I am truly at a loss, I  **don’t** have anything stronger.  _ ‘Hadronix… Cole… Lucas?’ _ The man laughs as he fires a debris ball at a bus away from us, crushing it, the distinct smell of blood enters the air and he continues to ignore me as more people die.

Yet another ball forms, but this time it just drops straight to the ground as a massive puddle of water forms, which soon goes to the top, and forms into Lucas. “Leave them alone.” Is all he says as he forms a lance like mine, then pierces the armor.  _ ‘I don’t know how, but he looks… beaten.’ _ His once translucent form is now shimmering and he seems pained. Then I notice the occasional spark shocking his body,  _ ‘Kessler?’ _ He flinches everytime a spark hits him. Lucas continues his assault regardless, slowly starting to rip off more armor than the Conduit can repair and when he is ready to deliver the final strike…

A flash of light slams into both of them, it is a pillar of electricity, however unlike Cole’s blue-white color, this one is closer to a light-red and blue. “You don’t belong here…” Came Kessler’s gravelly voice, he then turns his gaze to me, “Leave. You and your friend’s part in this is done.”

“I  **can’t** .” I retort, “Not until Hadronix finishes her device.”

He scoffs, “I meant do not interfere with my work, you may do as you please, as long as it doesn’t affect Cole or me.” With that, he abruptly leaves, akin to how Moya would end calls. I can hear the helicopter approaching…  _ ‘I told him I would take it out, but…’ _ I hit a moment of hesitation.

What do I do? Kessler might cut of access to his devices if I go against his command, but will he stop at that? What if he goes back on his word anyway? ‘ _ I wouldn't be surprised if he does, he just killed Lucas without a second thought.’ _ The puddle that was there refuses to reform, I shake my head and small snarl comes out,  _ ‘He's no better than Phoenix, he can proclaim about his intent to help Cole all he wants, but I'm not about to be pushed around like that again.’ _

I take a single leap back up to the nearest building and ready a stream, I can see Cole chasing a dark skinned man, who in turn had that helicopter chasing him.  _ ‘I refuse to have another incident like the one with Phoenix again.’ _ With my resolve set, I fire the stream, piercing the metal with ease and sending it crashing to the ground. Cole and the man stop, while the man turns to look at me, I shift back and make my way to them.

“Impressive…” Is the first thing to come out of his mouth, “Thank you.” He takes in a deep breath, clearly exhausted.

“Yasei, this is John White.” The conduit introduces us, “He  **was** one of the two things Moya wanted to clear my name with.”

“Was?” I echo his word.

He, for once, actually looks angry, “Yea, I'm… we're done with her.”

“No, you aren't.” Moya’s voice comes through both my and Cole’s phone. “You…” and it is cut off just as fast when he gives each phone a small shock.

“Alright John, what do you need us to do?” Cole turns towards the man.

“First we need to track down the Ray Sphere and make sure it stays out of Kessler’s grasp.” John starts, “Then both the Ray Sphere and Kessler need to be removed.”

Cole nods, “And it's safe to assume the Ray Sphere won't be sitting out in the open, right?”

He too nods, “We're going to need to conduct a surveillance over all of Empire City.”

“Sounds fun.” Cole drily states then looks straight at me, “Would be nice if Hadronix could assist.”

And as if saying her name causes the heavens to shift, my phone rings,  _ ‘Hadronix’ _ , “Hello?” I answer the call.

“What did you do?” She sounds slightly annoyed. “More specifically, what did you do to cause Kessler to change the access codes?”

I tense and take a few steps away from the other two, “One moment,” I let them know, “I don’t trust him, he wanted us to stand aside for the rest of this.”

A moment passes, then she sighs, “Alright, you’re the one who can sense emotions, I’m trusting your judgement. At least I got the foundation for the wormhole done…” She states the last part in a lower and exasperated tone. “I’m on my way, then. Before he throws a hissy-fit.”

Cole is looking at me expectantly as the call ends, “She’s on her way.”

“And uh, what exactly has she been doing lately?” He crosses his arms.

I take a quick glance at John, “Hadronix is building a ‘wormhole generator’ to get us home and it takes a lot of time. A lot of peace and quiet.”

Thankfully he doesn’t press for more information, “Alright John, I assume you have a plan for the surveillance?”

“The Ray Sphere emits a certain frequency, so with a modified device it can be hunted down. Fortunately I already have such a thing made, so all I need you to do is make sure that the helicopter it is equipped with doesn’t come crashing down.” John looks rather proud of himself. “I also have a wooden platform ready to suspend under it, because God knows you can’t go sitting in vehicles.”

“Ready when you are.” He takes one step, before stopping as his own phone rings, “Hey Trish.” A smile forms… but turns into a near scowl almost in the same moment, “Where is she? Leave. Her. Alone. When I get my hands on you…” The call ends, “Kessler has Trish, Historic District. I need to rescue her.” Without hesitating, he starts climbing up the nearest building.

“We’re on a time limit, Cole! Kessler is stalling…” John starts.

“I’m not leaving her!” The Conduit interrupts.

John and I share a look, before I choose to follow, “It won’t take long.” I assure him as I leap up to get a grip on the same building.


	24. The Price of Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's... finish this off, yeah?

I have never seen Cole move so fast in the several months since I’ve known him.  _ ‘Gods, it really isn’t even have been a year… half a year.’ _ The man has already been through so much, he lived a pretty cheap life before all of this stuff happened. Then the Blast comes around, he gets labeled a terrorist and almost loses his girlfriend, he then works his ass off to show everyone he’s the good guy in all of this…

And  **just** when it seems things are smoothing out, Zeke does something to lose his trust, and now Kessler has Trish.  _ ‘I feel bad for him.’ _ Yet, there is a tinge of guilt saying this is my fault, I shake my head, not now. I need to make sure she gets out of this alive. I make leaps and bounds as Cole deftly switches from grinding on wires to his hovering technique.  _ ‘If it weren’t for relying on those wires, he would be so far ahead right now.’ _ Not that I have a large lead, but I have just enough freedom to offset the speed he gets from grinding.

Within minutes we arrive at the spot, “Cole Macgrath.” Kessler’s voice echoes, the man stands a mere few feet away from us. “Yasei…” He spits my name, as if it isn’t worth his time.

“Where is she?” Cole’s arms wreath with electricity.

He jerks his head upward, “Dangling from the top of the building.” Cole takes one step and he clears his throat, “However, there are six doctors hanging from that one.” He gestures to another, “I wonder who you’ll save…” Then he glares at me, before returning his gaze on him, “And if either her or her friend interferes, then I’ll cause them all to drop together.”

Kessler vanishes in that flash of electricity and Cole gives me a thoughtful look, “I…” I start off, unsure of what to say.

Yet he shakes his head, “No… I know what Trish would tell me to do… would want me to do.” He looks pained, “And… I know she will understand.” He still looks uncertain, but gathers what resolve he can and makes his way towards the building with the doctors.  _ ‘Gods…’ _ I clench my teeth as I stand there, unwilling to make this situation worse than it is. A small wave of approval comes from Kessler as he stands on the building with Trish.  _ ‘And he is the future Cole, so he is willing to kill the person he loves to get Cole stronger? That’s just wrong!’ _

Within minutes Cole has already saved each of the six doctors, and now all of them are safely making their way down from the inside… with Trish still dangling, as if to taunt him. A taunt he acts on, Cole leaps from his building over to hers. His climbing speed seems to double as he practically runs up the wall.

Then her rope snaps and she falls past him in an unnaturally fast speed. Cole immediately releases his grip and falls down and barely… just barely lands first to catch her. I just stand there as I see him use his powers to heal her as he has done so many other people, his shocks becoming more desperate as I see a sort of terror line his eyes. He stops as she grabs his arm and for a moment it all seems things will go well again. Though telling from the desperation in his eyes, it wouldn’t last.  _ ‘What can I do? I can’t heal. I doubt that even Hadronix could treat her properly.’ _

“KESSLER!” Cole’s voice rings out a mere minute later, his girlfriend’s body is limp in his arms. “He’ll pay for this.” The rage in his eyes leave as they land on Trish’s body. “After I properly send you off.” He walks, his steps so hollow compared to earlier. He walks right past me and keeps moving, over in the direction of the Historic District’s largest park.  _ ‘I wish I knew what to say… Camilla would know.’ _ My own eyes sting from tears, partially from what just happened and partially as a grim set of thoughts accompany it,  _ ‘They’re all dead, Hoshido and Nohr are probably destroyed.’ _

_ ‘Rip, Tear.’ _

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I join up with Cole about an hour later, the man has long since buried her and has made a makeshift wooden head to identify the spot… among the dozens of others in the area. He still kneels in front of it, “Cole?” I slowly start, “Um.”

“I know, I need to keep moving, but…” He sounds as empty as his steps earlier. “John still needs help, Kessler still needs to be stopped…” He trails off.

“You’ll have help.” I realize that probably isn’t the best line, but if I tried to help earlier…

“Yea, you’ve done a lot for this city. Much more than I would expect of anybody. You’re from a different world, but you still helped out.” A small smile graces my face as his voice gains some life, “So, thanks… partner.”

“Better than being a sidekick.” I jest.

“Ha. Like I need a Boy Wonder by my side.” He weakly laughs, “Or Girl Wonder, I suppose.” Then he starts walking, “John? Yea I’m ready. I’ll be there.” My own phone beeps as I receive a set of coordinates.

“By the Celestials, woman.” Hadronix runs up to me, “First I go to the area I called you at, and apparently you aren’t there, then I go to this other area you supposedly went to, and you weren’t there…”  She lightly punches my shoulder, “And now I finally reach you and you’re already about to leave! Give me a break.”

Yumigami nudges my hand and I respond by petting her head,  _ ‘Distressed. Hadronix looks distressed when Yumi approaches me like this. Yet she is able to hide it well, her current exhaustion must be slowing her reactions.’ _ The Void-tainted wolf lets out a small happy bark. “I suppose we should go find a Ray Sphere.” Cole has already left by now, not that I blame him.  _ ‘He’s going to preoccupy himself with work now, I just hope he doesn’t pull off something he’ll regret.’ _ Shaking my head I move to follow him.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy she likes you.” Hadronix mutters just loud enough to me to hear, before her footsteps echo behind mine. “Just take good care of her.” I almost didn’t catch that.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John’s helicopter is already started and hovering off of the ground when we arrive, with Cole standing on an electrified platform below it, “Let me up there you ass!” Hadronix yells, yet it comes out good humoured. “I bet I can work that frequency tracker in my sleep!”

I take a tentative step on the platform,  _ ‘Huh, no shock.’ _ With that, I walk onto it as Hadronix hauls herself up to the passenger’s seat. “Hey.” I simply greet Cole.

“Hey.” He crosses his arms as the helicopter gains height, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

_ ‘Your scent testifies to that.’ _ I nod, “We’ll get this done so you can take a day off for once.”

He smiles, “Superheros don’t get a day off.”

“Uh-huh, and what about a few days ago? When…” My eyes widen slightly and I stop, “Nevermind.”

“ **You** had a day off while I got to do a number of odd jobs.” His mood sours slightly,  _ ‘Great…’ _ “Sorry, you obviously shouldn’t be getting any spite. You’re too kind for that.”

I slightly flush as I turn to look over the city, “I won’t hold it against you, I know how it feels to lose people.” I barely manage to contain a sob, “A lot of people.”  _ ‘Everything and everyone. All that’s left of both Nohr and Hoshido is on me.’ _

The helicopter slows down and the platform lands on a rooftop, “Alright, check the local area.” I hear John’s voice come from above us. “According to Hadronix, this should be the place.” Cole and I get off the platform and I extend my sense.

“Looks like we got a welcoming party.” He comments, before flashing a smirk at me, “Maybe we should trash it?”

“Sounds good to me.” I return a smile as we both jump off. Cole’s body is wrapped in electricity as he slams directly into the ground below us, while I form my wings and change direction to land on a nearby ledge, housing a few snipers.  _ ‘Kill, feast.’ _ My dragon roars out as I carelessly sling them over the edge, both of them land with a satisfying crunch, I then swing off of that ledge and land in a narrow open hallway. One of Kessler’s goons is wielding a shotgun, acting as a bodyguard to another sniper. He does that pumping motion before firing, I shield myself with a wing, but due to the distance it still pierces.  _ ‘Gods…’ _ I fight through the pain and charge him before he can get another shot off, skewering him with a summoned lance. I then form my maw and snap the sniper in half.  _ ‘Blood, rend.’ _

The ground below me crumbles as I hear an explosion alongside deranged yelling.  _ ‘He just killed himself with an explosion.’ _ I fall down several floors from the destroyed foundation, landing on the concrete. Sensing an energy fast approaching me, I roll to the side just in time to avoid a blue fissure.  _ ‘That’s the thing the Reaper Conduits used.’ _ Sure enough, when I get up, there’s one of the Reaper Conduits, but this one looks far more deadly. He vanishes from sight and I feel a sharp sting of pain as something slams into my side. I hear Yumigami growl as she snaps her teeth around some air, which causes blood to drop and the Conduit reappears. With surprising strength, she pulls the Conduit down, then her paws glow a light blue as a beam of magic burns into the body. The wolf then vanishes as quickly as she came.

_ ‘I am starting to hate invisibility.’ _ Yet these specific Conduits have it even better than that, they can also hide their scent, leaving me totally blind. I hear that deranged yelling again as another goon charges me… before suddenly being encased in ice.  _ ‘Hadronix.’ _ A well-placed arrow pierces his head and he drops to the ground, dead. I unsheathe my sword and slice out at another First Son looking to blindside me,  _ ‘I’m not that dull.’ _ Another blue fissure comes my way and I feel its sting on my leg as I dodge, I then aim my sword’s point at him and fire off a crossbow bolt, nailing him straight through the heart.  _ ‘Huh, lucky shot.’ _

I quickly get back up and the sounds of battle soon stop. “Get back here!” I hear Cole yell as he chases down a Conduit holding an item wrapped in cloth.

“He’s baiting you!” Hadronix calls out, but Cole continues to follow regardless. “Ancestors…”

“I need some assistance, here!” John’s voice echoes from the top. In response, I leap up and make my way to the rooftop, Hadronix close behind. I see a number of First Son troops around the area.

“Get out of here, Cole’s chasing down the one with the Ray Sphere.” I tell him.

“...Sounds like a trap.” He points out the obvious, before taking off, causing all of the goons to redirect their attention to us.

Hadronix deftly avoids a bullet and pays in kind with an arrow, which explodes on contact, sending the surrounding ones scattered. Ruinad swoops in and claws a gash into one of their necks, while Yumi phases in to snap her jaws around another's neck, both of them disappear just as fast. I slice another one open and feel the sting of a bullet hit my side, I was about to retaliate, but Hadronix already shot an arrow through his head.  _ ‘Jeez, considering that she has the slower weapon, she sure is making more hits than they are.’ _ Well, her strikes are always true, while the First Sons’ seem to miss a lot from pure recoil. I pierce another one with my lance while Yumi takes out the last one.  _ ‘Another moment of peace.’ _

“Not bad, my liege.” Hadronix giggles.

“You did most of the work here.” I counter with a smile.

“Ready to rescue your crush?” She jabs at me with her smirk.

My face flushes, “He isn’t my…” Any other words I would have said died out as an explosion rocks the direction Cole ran to. “Gods…” It was just like before, a huge sphere of electricity covers the area, sending out shockwaves. I can barely make Cole running off of the dock, where it seems to have originated.

“I told Kessler it would be unstable.” Hadronix calmly states. “If Cole delivered even a moderate amount of electricity to that thing…” Despite that, I sigh in relief,  _ ‘At least that means he didn’t use it.’ _ I take a few steps, before Hadronix tugs on my arm. “Would you mind at least waiting until the obviously  **deadly** sphere dissipates before you go running off?” I simply nod and offer a sheepish smile.  _ ‘Well excuse me for being concerned.’ _

Because gods know I have a horrible feeling brewing inside me right now.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the second Blast ended, Hadronix and I travel to the area where it was, “Gods…” Just like the last one, the area has been decimated.  _ ‘For whatever it is worth, it least it happened out on a dock, rather than in the middle of the city.’ _ Still, the buildings that did get hit was hit hard. “Now, where did he go…” I take a deep smell of the surrounding area. It seems like he’s heading towards… “Back to the first Ground Zero?”

“Kessler probably wants to duel him.” Hadronix shrugs it off like absolutely nothing can go wrong, “It’s a better spot than a restaurant.” She starts casually walking towards the newest destination.

“Well come on! He could…” She stops me with a single hand.

“He’ll be fine.” Her voice carries that authority it did back in Hoshido.

“Hadronix…?” I start as the bad feeling doubled.

“That’s my name.” Her usual jest comes out colder than normal.

“What did you do?” I press on.

“I did nothing. Any consequence that comes out of today was of Cole’s decision.” She remains distant.

I take a moment to process that, “He used it, didn’t he?”

“Yep.”

“That’s going to weigh on him.”

“That’s on him.” Her lack of concern is starting to bother me.

“How can you remain so indifferent?”

“Yasei, I’m not like you, Cole, or Sis. I don’t get enjoyment from helping every single person. I distance myself because of how I chose to live. A Hunter. My only company is supposed to be my pets and the wilds.”

“But you said you wanted to protect Raven.” I counter.

“I’ll protect a select few. You’re my liege, I’ll keep you safe. My pets are my responsibility, I’ll protect them. Sis is my first friend, I’ll shield her from harm.” With that, she trails off, “Past that? If I happen to have the spare time, I will, but I’m not going out of my way.” I stand there as she continues walking. “Yasei, think about it, when was the last time I made something specifically for the public?”

“You gave Sakura…!”

“I invented them originally for Sis. And only Sis.” She interrupts me.

“You…” Words fail me. “You never did.” The realization hits me.

“That’s correct. Now, I’m going to resume working on the Wormhole Generator, see you later.” Her words are cold,  _ ‘I can’t believe I didn’t recognize that sooner.’ _ She was always so helpful to Raven and me, so I just assumed she would do the same for others. Shaking my head, I make my way towards Cole’s position.  _ ‘He might need my help.’ _

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I arrive at a rather… strange scene to say the least. Kessler lies limping in Cole’s arm, while the Conduit has a distant expression on his face. His arms crackle with a black and dark red electricity. I approach as Cole reaches into Kessler front pocket and removes a small piece of paper. “He’s…” He practically throws Kessler to the side, “He’s me?”

I hear movement from the side and see Zeke trapped under some rubble. “I got you!” I announce as I lift the block off of him.

“Whew, that was rough, thanks.” He tries to lighten the mood, “Hurt like hell, too.” He stretches his back out, “Makes me feel sorry for all the goons Cole fried.” I notice burn marks on his coat. “Cole man! You did it!” Zeke and I walk towards him, “Cole?” He tries again when the man doesn’t respond.

“Kessler is me. I am Kessler.” He repeats while handing Zeke the paper… picture, rather.

I look at it and see Cole and Trish in wedding attire, with Zeke in the background. “Wait, what?” He obviously looks confused.

“Kessler came from the future to prepare me for a threat he called ‘The Beast’, a creature that will kill everyone if  **I** don’t stop it.” The black and red sparks jump from arm to arm, much more intense than his lightning from mere hours ago. “I need to train my powers more.” He resolves.

“You sure? I mean, you just kicked Kessler’s ass!” Zeke praises him, “Seriously, he didn’t stand a chance!”

“Only because I used  **it** .” Cole states, “God, Trish is probably filled with scorn right now… I  **used** the Ray Sphere! It wasn’t an accident this time! I knowingly  **used** it!” He chides himself, “I wasn’t strong enough to protect everyone and I thought…” He shakes his head, “I need some time.” He walks away.

“...Damn.” Zeke takes one more look at the picture, before simply letting it drop. “Uh, call me if you need anything, alright?!” He shouts out, then turns to me, “Um… a lot of shit has happened recently and,”

“Don’t worry about it.” I cut him off, “I understand.”

I suppose the only thing I can do now is wait for Hadronix to finish the Wormhole Generator.  _ ‘And I’ll help out the city when I can…’ _

**Author's Note:**

> And so starts the AU path. As with the canon one, this will be focusing on Yasei, as well as deviating from the canonical path primarily through not having her accompanying Cole throughout the entire fic.
> 
> I do hope you all enjoy this.
> 
> Have a good one!


End file.
